who was better in 2005: wade or shaq?

[falcolombardi]

who was the more valuable player for 2005 miami heat?

i have the feeling that shaq mvp shot that year (one vote away from nash) was in part cause wade reputation was not there yet

imo, the most valuable player of that team was wade but shaq received most of the credit for miami jump compared to wade own growth


Some of the stats

wade stats per game: 24.1 points, 6.8 Assists, 5.2 rebounds (1.4 offensive ones), 1.6 steals, 1.1 blocks with 4.2 turnovers

Advanced: 56% true shooting, VORP: 4.9, Win shares: 11, BPM: 4.6

shaq stats per game: 22.9 points, 2.7 Assists, 10.4 rebounds (3.5 offensive ones), 0.5 steals, 2.3 blocks with 2.8 turnovers

Advanced: 58% true shooting, VORP: 4.6, Win shares: 11, BPM: 5.3

who do you think was more valuable?

[Big NBA Fan]

In the playoffs, Wade was way better because he was fully healthy until his severe rib injury in Game 5 of the ECF.

Shaq had a healthy RS, but got hurt just one week before the playoffs that severely hampered his production in the PS.

They were up 3-2 on the Pistons before Wade's injury and with Shaq hobbled badly with his deep thigh bruise all throughout the playoffs, they didn't have a # 3 guy who could create offense for himself or for others. That's the only reason they failed to make the Finals.

In the RS, it was very much 1A and 1B. Both were terrific on both ends and both had healthy regular seasons until their untimely injuries cost them that series against Detroit.

By 06, Wade was clearly better and Shaq's ugly decline started. 05 was the first year of Wade's prime and Shaq's last truly dominant regular season.

I also still feel very strongly Shaq deserved that MVP over Nash in 05.

[Homer38]

I think in the regular season Shaq was better.Of course for the playoffs,it was Wade.

[No-more-rings]

Probably Wade since i value playoffs more. I don't think Shaq was capable by that point of being "the man" so to speak on a title winning team, i think we sort of saw that Wade was if it wasn't for that injury dude averaged 28/6/7 on 57 ts% before the rib injury. This season from Wade seems to get sort of swept under the rug when people talk about his career value, many seems to just focus on 06-11 but 2005 was just a tick below that level.

[TheBomb81]

Shaq was better since he was close to winning the MVP.

[DirtyDez]

It’s hard to go against the primary ball handler and leading scorer. They didn’t have a PG so Wade had more responsibility. Factor in the playoff and I’d pick Wade overall.

[Statlanta]

Shaq. Wade got better offensively as he got to play with former All-D players and a culture that promoted intensity, professionalism and hard work.
Shaq was already good, which reflected in his defensive attention and didn't need to develop or progress.

[cupcakesnake]

I always felt the Shaq MVP was a totally narrative driven thing based on Shaq getting in shape and how the Heat were an instant contender. There was also some "whoops we only gave Shaq 1 MVP" feelings in the media.

Shaq was definitely good enough as a one-man wrecking crew on offense that he turned okay teams into instant contenders. But it's hard to look at his numbers, across the board, and not see that he obviously had finished his prime by that point. After 2002, Shaq starts a gentle slide that (at the time) only became super noticeable once he started getting injured all the time, decreasing his mobility further, and making him look mortal more often than not. Just look at his numbers. His Miami year 1 numbers, though solid, are a far cry from peak LA Shaq. He's no longer a near 40points/100 guy, his free throws have trended down for 2 seasons, Outside the numbers: the vulnerability on pick & roll defense is starting to show up a little bit, and Shaq clearly needs a few more milliseconds to load up to a rim crushing dunk.

He gets compared to Nash that year, because Nash won MVP. But for a cleaner comparison: what made Shaq better than Duncan or Dirk in 2005?

I think the answer to OP's question is still Shaq. Though I expected to look at the numbers and see it was Wade. Wade's monster years really start in 2006 and go up until 2011 (when he was healthy). He was ramping up in 2005. The only really strong argument for Wade over Shaq is that Wade played more minutes and games that season. There isn't a huge gap between Wade and Shaq in the numbers, but they do give Shaq a little bit more credit for the Heat's success.

[No-more-rings]

To the above point, Shaq averaged 23/10 i don’t see how those are mvp numbers unless you were also the best defender in the league which Shaq wasn’t close to.

[Texas Chuck]

To the above point, Shaq averaged 23/10 i don’t see how those are mvp numbers unless you were also the best defender in the league which Shaq wasn’t close to.

Dirk was the MVP in 07 at 24/9. And he wasn't remotely the best defender in the league, but he absolutely was the most valuable player in the league leading that roster to an absurd 67 wins. Could easily have won in it 2011 as well with even smaller numbers as a worse defensive player.

Counting stats don't remotely tell the story. Shaq didn't deserve the MVP that year, but not because of those numbers by any means.

[KobesScarf]

Shaq during the regular season
Wade in the playoffs
Shaq overall