More talented Wade, Harden or CP3

[iamworthy]

OP, why did you leave out top 10 player Kyle Lowry?

It's between CP3 and Wade for me. Harden falls off my list because if you can do the things he can do on offense you should be better on defense... He just doesn't put in enough effort in my opinion.

[Retro_Junkball]

A lot of Harden's varied skillset is built up over the years, so I don't think it's as much talent as hard work. Although, he clearly has more physical advantages than CP3 and is a top top tier athlete.

Prime Wade was skilled and a physical freak who lost athleticism slowly but surely. He's the easy choice without digging into what exactly talent means.

Paul has got a great argument if you limit physical attributes, or weight IQ more highly because it tends to endure better than physical attributes, and is separately appreciable.

Since injuries and knee surgeries really shouldn't factor into a talent discussion , I'll go with the easy choice of Wade. Healthy Wade had the best peak and physical attributes certainly do matter in sports.

Paul wins 'does the most with physical capabilities'.

[chyau.00]

2 perennial losers vs a champion.

why is this even a debate?

Well to be fair that one champions "talent" (Wade) didn't single handily win his team the trophies, it was him and the team. CP3 and even Harden have had the talent to win a title throughout their career but it just hasn't happened yet.

he did with his first ring. took a bunch of senior citizens and won the whole thing.

[Sane]

read the topic?
this thread is about talent, not skill.

Correct, he doesn't have the talent to add that skill.

Doesn't happen with Harden and CP3.

talent is innate ability
skill can be honed through practice.

Yes, and some people are more talented at learning things. I know the definitions.

Wade simply did not have the level of talent to add that skill.

Unless you're saying Wade was either lazy or careless and didn't practice his 3's in the regular team drills? That's usually sufficient for someone's 3pt% to improve marginally over time.

[Spintown]

2 perennial losers vs a champion.

why is this even a debate?

Well to be fair that one champions "talent" (Wade) didn't single handily win his team the trophies, it was him and the team. CP3 and even Harden have had the talent to win a title throughout their career but it just hasn't happened yet.

he did with his first ring. took a bunch of senior citizens and won the whole thing.

That heat team was stacked with savy veterans anyone thinking Wade single handily carried the Heat to the championship just doesn't understand the concept of basketball. Yes he shot a lot of freethrows, but part of that was that the team as a whole recognized that the refs are quick to blow the whistle when Wade drives in and they exploited that

[Zasterror]

Correct, he doesn't have the talent to add that skill.

Doesn't happen with Harden and CP3.

talent is innate ability
skill can be honed through practice.

Yes, and some people are more talented at learning things. I know the definitions.

Wade simply did not have the level of talent to add that skill.

Unless you're saying Wade was either lazy or careless and didn't practice his 3's in the regular team drills? That's usually sufficient for someone's 3pt% to improve marginally over time.

This is silly. Simply pointing out Ward's lack of a good 3 point shot to critique his skill/talent without taking into account his ability to score within the 3 point line, facilitate, and defend is ridiculous.

Athletically, its not close between the 3, especially in their primes. Wade arguably had the fastest 1st steps in history and one of the best players at body control w/ the dribble and in the air in history. Not to mention he had great strength at his position (only Harden is comparable) and had wide array of moves in the post (something neither CP3 and Harden ever had). Defensively, Wade had otherworldly instincts while being able to use his wingspan to be the greatest shotblocking guard in history despite being 6'4. Chris Paul is an excellent defender but Wade's more flexible and versatile due to superior size, speed, and strength. Harden is laughably no where near this despite having a great body type to be a good-great defender.

Chris Paul is very close in this argument; Paul's playmaking and shooting definitely slimmed the margin but Wade was a much better scorer and slightly better offensive threat. Harden scores a ton but his game literally consist of 3s, handling, and FTAs. Talent-wise, Wade/CP3 in their prime are still effective on the court even if the 3-ball not hitting or not being able to draw fouls consistently.

ALL of this are attributes to talent; Wade had more to pick from out of the 3. CP3 is a close 2nd.

[gp2015]

Wade won a ring as the clear #1 (pre-Heatles) and the other two haven't even been close so I'll go with Wade.

[gorz]

cp3 is the most skilled. For him to be a former top 5 player in the NBA and perennial top 10 at his height is incredible.

Harden is freaking skilled for 6'5. His combination of handle and shot is one of the best all time at his height range 6'4-6'6.

Wade is the most athletic of three but least skilled of the 3 even tho he's underrated in that department. He didn't have vast offensive arsenal but stuck to what he was good at.

You know very little about based off this ridiculous comment you made. Wade is much more skilled than Harden inside the 3P line

Wade was skilled but not James Harden skilled. James Harden has a skill level of a high level pg at his 6'5 height. Harden has a broader offensive arsenal, better footwork, tighter handles, better jumpshot, more range, better at creating for himself, drawing fouls etc. Wade was primarily a slasher with his quick first step, possessed a good mid range game floater and finishing ability at/around the rim. Like i said wade was good bc he stuck to what he was good at.

[KingDavid]

cp3 is the most skilled. For him to be a former top 5 player in the NBA and perennial top 10 at his height is incredible.

Harden is freaking skilled for 6'5. His combination of handle and shot is one of the best all time at his height range 6'4-6'6.

Wade is the most athletic of three but least skilled of the 3 even tho he's underrated in that department. He didn't have vast offensive arsenal but stuck to what he was good at.

You know very little about based off this ridiculous comment you made. Wade is much more skilled than Harden inside the 3P line

Wade was skilled but not James Harden skilled. James Harden has a skill level of a high level pg at his 6'5 height. Harden has a broader offensive arsenal, better footwork, tighter handles, better jumpshot, more range, better at creating for himself, drawing fouls etc. Wade was primarily a slasher with his quick first step, possessed a good mid range game floater and finishing ability at/around the rim. Like i said wade was good bc he stuck to what he was good at.

Wade had better footwork. He was a great post player. Awful take on Wade, lmao. He was an elite playmaker for himself and others. Harden has no in between game. He chucks 3s and flops, or crosses you and drives inside, lob off the help or layup. It's why he's known to disappear or be rather ineffective in the playoffs. His game doesn't translate when the refs swallow whistles.

You forgot about defense, because that takes a ton of skill, but that never seems to matter to fans of Harden.

[ColeWorld23]

Wade County

[rate_]

Harden spams the same play over and over and over and over again. LOL that’s not a varied skillset. Wade had a great post moves, excellent dexterity at the rim, great at using fakes, excellent handles, and a decent midrange in his prime. Only thing he didn’t have was the range. Harden has a benefit of having great spacing to help open his own offensive game. Wade in his prime never had the spacing that Harden had.

Just Imagine 2009 Wade with Houston’s spacing.

[Pelly24]

How? What can CP3 possibly do in a system where the ball is dominated more times than not by Lebron James? CP3 is used to being the one running the offense, so it wouldn't make any sense to put those two on the same team.

Chris Paul is a better off ball player than Wade. Wade was a combo guard more than a pure SG. And he was a terrible spot up shooter. He wasn't a great fit next to Lebron, they made it work because they were great. CP3 played well enough next to a more ball dominant player in Harden. Not saying CP3 is a ideal fit next to Lebron, but a better one than Wade. He would be like a smarter and way better defender version of Irving. He would also allow Lebron to play off ball better.

Plus, he was in his prime in the 2010's. Wade wasnt.

It's still a bad idea to have them on the same team because CP3 is one of the best to create shots for the whole team. So that be wasting his full potential. Especially if you have him and Lebron together in their primes like how it was with Wade. Standing by what I said. Btw Harden and CP3 didn't work out so much in the end considering their disagreements that led to the separation.

I disagree. The difference is that CP3 is an elite shooter from everywhere. Like the other guy said, he'd be like a smarter, better defending Kyrie. He and Harden were transcendent together and might have actually taken GSW to 7 games if CP didn't get injured. And CP3 was still like a top 6-8 player in the game back then in 2018, but 2008-2015 CP3 i think was even better. LeBron and CP3 would be an unstoppable duo and I think even more dominant than LeBron and Wade.

[Strepbacter]

Harden is the most talented, but blunts his impact with the way he chooses to play. Wade was easily the best player here.

[Pelly24]

Harden spams the same play over and over and over and over again. LOL that’s not a varied skillset. Wade had a great post moves, excellent dexterity at the rim, great at using fakes, excellent handles, and a decent midrange in his prime. Only thing he didn’t have was the range. Harden has a benefit of having great spacing to help open his own offensive game. Wade in his prime never had the spacing that Harden had.

Just Imagine 2009 Wade with Houston’s spacing.

Yeah I think out of these three, Harden's performance drops off the most. As a first option his playoff performances have dropped off almost every single time, while CP3's almost always remained the same or improved. I think Wade had like one blunder where he was coming off an injury (08), but otherwise generally better, and in 2006 was better than anything Harden did.

I'm a harden hater so I'm maybe a bit biased. But to me CP3 and Wade clearly peaked as better players, and honestly, I don't even know that Harden was ever better than CP3 until 2019 lol.