Better Player: Luka vs D Wade

[wafflzgod]

Luka better offensively. Wade is better overall because he was a great defender

[hagredionis]

Luka better scorer, better playmaker, better rebounder. Overall Luka by a country mile.

[tone wone]

He would be Anthony Edwards without his 3pt shooting and extremely difficult to build around. Career sub 30% 3pt shooter peaked at 33% at 3.6 3pa meaning you cannot afford to have another 3pt liability to hurt spacing. Modern guards without 3pt threat would be guarded with one step back and be funneled into traps.

Ant doesn't possess a quarter of Wade's craft, dexterity and overall touch as a finisher nor does have the footwork on his drives that Wade had. He's also completely outclassed as a passer.

Terrible comparison. If he were just "Wade with a 3ball" he'd be a no-doubt MVP candidate and in the running for best player in the world.

Of course he's just 22 and could develop into this but no.

[rate_]

Wade over Luka by a hair.

[f4p]

Luka. Not close.

This isn't really a legitimate position. Like, choosing either player in this comparison is legit. Coming up with "not even close" for either of them, though, is ridiculous in the extreme.

He just dissected a supercharged version of the bad boy pistons lol

The problem I have with these historical comparisons, especially with Joker and Luka, is that they play in a perfect era to maximize their offensive impact.

How does playing against much better competition in an era where big playmakers is alot more common help their impact?

Wade would be worse today and luka would be better the more you translate him backwards.

this doesn't make sense to me. and i'm saying this as someone who has championed luka more than most on this board the last few years. the more we go back, the more the nba looks like the one wade dominated and less like the one luka dominates. literally nothing the mavericks or luka do today on offense was common or even existed back in 2006. vertical spacing lob threats on PnR's? i don't remember basically anyone doing that (on any sort of volume) until cp3/tyson chandler and even that was largely a one-off until Lob City another 5 or so years later. rookie lively and trade throw-in gafford aren't being given the keys to a PnR attack like that. all the 3 point spacing that makes luka's passing so deadly because doubling him just results in a hugely valuable shot? not there. running PnR's where you get the defender on your back and then slowly work your way into the paint to pick apart a 2-on-1. didn't exist. getting switches to take step backs on bigs. not a thing. also stepbacks weren't invented yet. also off the dribble 3's were basically not invented yet. iso'ing and athletically finishing over bigs in the paint or using unbelievable change of direction to avoid charges in the more packed paint of the time? perfect for wade, seemingly not what luka is best at.

luka doesn't just get to take his 2024 skills and his 2024 mavs offense and the 2024 refs who don't think stepbacks are travels or that moving picks are moving picks (i'm not saying they are, just that 2006 refs do) and plop them in 2006 and beat all those teams. he gets jason williams and gary payton and udonis haslem and brokedown shaq and old 'zo and the worst spacing and shooting of like any finals team in the last 20 years and he has to just bulldoze his way for as many efficient 2's and ft's as possible to try to eke out an offense. because otherwise he's taking a low volume of 3's like everybody else in that era and he's not racking up free throws like the athletic perimeter players on that era and he's much more double-able when the penalty is a long 2 from haslem instead of an auto-dunk from gafford.

[One_and_Done]

Old timey teams are too immobile to guard the 3. Luka would cook them.

[OhayoKD]

This isn't really a legitimate position. Like, choosing either player in this comparison is legit. Coming up with "not even close" for either of them, though, is ridiculous in the extreme.

He just dissected a supercharged version of the bad boy pistons lol

The problem I have with these historical comparisons, especially with Joker and Luka, is that they play in a perfect era to maximize their offensive impact.

luka doesn't just get to take his 2024 skills

Why would Luka not get his 2024 skills? Inventing a hypothetically worse player than Luka and calling him Luka so you can pretend he's not better than Wade is what I'd call meaningless.

Either indirectly compare the players by using their respective periods as a backdrop, or directly compare them. Stepbacks do not need to be invented, Luka has them and 2000's defenses have no counter for it.

[70sFan]

He just dissected a supercharged version of the bad boy pistons lol


luka doesn't just get to take his 2024 skills

Why would Luka not get his 2024 skills? Inventing a hypothetically worse player than Luka and calling him Luka so you can pretend he's not better than Wade is what I'd call meaningless.

Either indirectly compare the players by using their respective periods as a backdrop, or directly compare them. Stepbacks do not need to be invented, Luka has them and 2000's defenses have no counter for it.

A big portion of his 2024 skills wouldn't be available in the earlier eras. I won't even talk about obvious things like traveling violations, but he'd have way less options to pass the ball on a drive, he'd also be forced to play more ISO style with less off- all movement from his teammates and two bits clogging the lane.

I'm sure he'd adjust, but turning his team into 2024 offensive merchant is just as silly as making Luka a different player.

[ShotCreator]

One game into Luka’s first NBA Finals and we have this:

Read on Twitter

Now in a week leading up to this series where I’m reading Luka blows peak D-Wade away, is better than peak Curry on both ends, and shouldn’t be compared to any version of James Harden, I’m really inclined to post this.

I’m anticipating better offensive performances from Luka, but this type of defense is his real level I’ve talked about in detail. No extra efforts, not enough footspeed for consistent perimeter D. He did have some moments anticipating Tatum’s drives that aren’t here, but overall he isn’t moving the needle on defense giving up the middle of the lane and wide open 3’s simultaneously.

Prime Harden had a footspeed issue like this clip too but he was much more diligent about rotating out to shooters where his reach gave him good contests. Especially in the playoffs.

[DirtyDez]

Wade was averaging 30+ ppg before the shoulder injury in 08’. It would’ve been awesome to see had he been significantly more durable during his late 20’s. I still think what Wade did against the Nets, Pistons and Mavs during the 06’ playoffs is an all time run for a guard and probably one ups Luka to this point. Luka will finish higher in time.

[Dee45]

Wade.