Dwyane Wade vs LeBron James: Who Gets a Bigger Career Boost with a Title?

A championship would have helped improve the career status of many players who failed to take one home.

Perhaps we would look at players like Charles Barkley or Karl Malone differently if we knew that they had at least one title under their belts. Instead of knowing that they at least achieved their primary objective at least once in their career, a critic now recognizes that neither of those players were successful in coming up short of securing a championship time and time again, despite being known as one of the best in the game.

We look at those players and their lengthy career and wonder how they couldn't win a title. The same today could be said for LeBron James in his time with the Cleveland Cavaliers. As good of teams as James had in the regular season where they won over 60 games for two consecutive seasons, he was not once ever successful in bringing a title back home to the franchise.

For that, we only knew James for coming up short in his goal of obtaining a championship. Rather than looking at his impressive accolades that includes two MVPs amongst other achievements, we instead look at his short comings and what he has failed to do in eight seasons.

Now that he is near his goal, we already begin to wonder what LeBron's legacy will look like if he had one more ring than before.

One of the biggest criticisms of James' career has been his inability to pull out victories against the elite teams of the East, or West, in dire postseason situations. The criticism of his inability to pull out series victories against the likes of the Orlando Magic or the Boston Celtics has tormented James' postseason career until his stint with Miami, where he is now as close to the title as he has been since 2007.

So instead of looking at James as the player with two MVPs and a legacy that most players could ever wish for, we look at him as the player with no ring. It's unfair to LeBron, but it's the price you pay when you come up short on an objective that the media thought you would win.

James' career certainly would get a huge moral boost once he's able to secure that first title, but it would also drastically help the career of his teammate in Dwyane Wade, who is one of three players on the team with a title.

Wade secured that title in 2006 when he and a Shaquille O'Neal-led team won 52 games and took the second seed going into the postseason. They beat the Chicago Bulls, New Jersey Nets and Detroit Pistons before advancing to their first Finals in post season history, where they would take on the Dallas Mavericks.

The obvious story line to emerge from the series would be Wade and how he led the team from a 2-0 deficit to a 4-2 series win. Dwyane averaged 35 points per game and put on display one of the greatest individual feats and series in NBA Finals history. O'Neal only was a crutch as he dropped 13 points and nine rebounds, but still helped considerably thanks to his ability to draw double teams to free up Wade.

Of course, analysts and critics have to look at Wade in some sort of negative light for that title win because no one is just happy with saying "look how impressive Wade's title is". Instead, we point out that Wade hasn't been out of the first round since those NBA Finals with O'Neal, and just how much of a factor Shaq played in allowing Dwyane to get those shots up.

As well as Dwyane has played over the course of his career in the postseason, he hasn't nearly seen the postseason success that LeBron James has had recently. LeBron and the Cavs were perennial title contenders, while Dwyane and the Heat were trying their hardest just to get to the semifinals. Wade has made it to the postseason over the past two years, but lost in the first round on both occasions.

Even with a title in only his first seven seasons, we still have to find some sort of way to criticize Wade and his achievements because it is basically the only accolade of his career. Dwyane hasn't won any MVPs and has had a quiet career with only a few All-Star games and a spot on a few All-NBA teams. Earning a title this season would not only prove that he can without Shaq, but that he's also more than capable of being the dominant figure he was early on in his career.

Between the two, it's obvious that James gets the bigger boost.

Wade's career status would drastically improve, but we have to remember that he already has a title. Coming across a title as a dominant figure on a team in the NBA is one of the hardest feats manageable when you see that only eight different teams have taken home the trophy over the past 20 years, and only five different teams in the past decade.

Wade was able to do that in only his third season, when James was only making his first postseason appearance.

James not having a title is one of the biggest criticisms an individual has dealt with in the sporting world. The fact that we look at LeBron as one of the most dominant figures in the games history and how we already list him as such makes it all the more surprising knowing that he still hasn't secured a title.

Even if it was seven seasons on a number of teams that barely had any support, the first thing we'll always notice is how James wasn't able to secure a title with those teams.

With LeBron and Dwyane as close to a title as ever before, and with a chance to possibly put the series on ice tonight, we look at their impressive careers and begin to compare just who the better player is. Do we look at LeBron's MVP trophies as better support, or do we look at the fact that Wade will forever have at least one more championship than James will ever have barring LeBron doesn't begin to go ring chasing if he leaves Miami in the future?

Both players would get huge Hall of Fame and career boosts with a title, but it's obviously going to be James obtaining his first title that will hold the biggest impact on the team this season if it does meet its expectations of winning a championship. This post season has already proven that James is capable of being the closer that his critics have always dreaded that he would become, so it would honestly come as surprising if LeBron and the Heat don't follow through.

Even with a title, we'll look at James as a player who had to get help from other superstars to secure the title, but it's only minor details in the broad picture. It would also be a sad excuse by his critics if they do say this following his possible title win this season or seasons later on. James has dealt with it all year long, so with a title he would also silence the world for the time being.

Once he secures that title, we'll find a new scapegoat. Watch out, Kevin Durant and Derrick Rose.

You can follow John Friel on twitter @JohnFtheheatgod