Dwyane Wade: Is He the Third-Best Shooting Guard of All-Time?
In Game 4 of the NBA Finals, Mark Jackson said that Dwyane Wade is the third-best shooting guard behind Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.
There is no doubt that Wade is extremely talented. Seeing him dominate in the finals at both ends of the court is remarkable.
He is an above-average rebounder for a player, not just a guard, and is probably the leader of adjusted shots made in the paint while being fouled, if there was a stat for that.
If Joe Dumars had a do-over for the 2003 draft, he probably would have gone with Wade and not Darko Milicic.
In the 2003 draft, Detroit picked Milicic second behind LeBron James and Carmelo was picked third by Denver. It has been debated that had Detroit had a second chance, they would not have passed on Anthony. Based on the career of Anthony and Wade, you would have to pick Wade second if time can indeed be turned back.
While we are on the 2003 draft, based on the currant 2010 Eastern Conference Finals, Cleveland would have to at least seriously consider taking Wade over LeBron James, even “if taking my talents to South Beach” never happened last summer.
Wade is that good but what if he just decides to quit playing basketball today, would he be still considered the third-best shooting guard of all time? If the top 50 all-time NBA players list was being revised, Wade will receive strong consideration, but third all-time shooting guard might be a little premature.
Earl “The Pearl” Monroe, Jerry West, Pete Maravich, Oscar Robertson (Big O), Reggie Miller, Ray Allen and Allen Iverson (let's not kid ourselves, AI was no point guard) will all have something to say about that.
These guys are in the top 30 of the all-time scoring list. West and Big O all got there without the benefit of a three-point shot and hand checking on the perimeter was allowed.
Wade has more championships than only Iverson and Miller combined, but neither of these players hooked up with another great player to win a championship. Miller could have left Indiana Pacers through free agency, but chose to stick with the team that took a big chance on him.
Iverson had an 18-month flirt with Carmelo Anthony, but that proved fruitless, as Iverson was on the wrong side of his prime by then.
Wade won his only championship to date, when he supplanted one of the greatest centers of all time, Shaquille O’Neal (should have retired then) in the 2006 NBA Finals and was awarded the Finals MVP.
But Big O averaged a triple-double one season and won regular-season MVP. He was the ultimate combo guard before Wade. Robertson averaged 30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds and 11.4 assists per game when the NBA was a big man's game.
One could argue that the league was probably watered down in respect of athleticism and skill back in 1961-62, but players did not have referees protecting them from errant elbows either! Fouls were hard and "flopping" was not a basketball-related word.
There is no doubt that Wade is a talent, but when he has won a season MVP and score over 27,711 points in less than 1,040 games only then he will be considered above Robertson or "The Logo" West.
Wade will probably get to more NBA finals than either of these players, and may even flirt with the possibility of going an entire season undefeated, but both these players will always have Rookie of the Year. Just like Kobe will never have that over Jordan.
