RealGM

2011 he was still elite/MVP caliber player but dropped off a bit the next two seasons. Where did he rank those two years as a 2nd best player on his own team?

Wade ranked 7th in the NBA in EPM in 2012 and 9th in 2013. So yeah, he ranks very highly as a #2 in those years. The big caveat here, though, is that in the 2013 playoffs he was pretty broken down, so he’d definitely rank a lot lower if just looking at those playoffs.

Wade was a legit good #2 in 2012 and 2013 before he got hurt.

In the 2013 PS, I would be him FIRMLY below average compared to other #2 guys historically. Since I know, some people might have some issues with this designation, I can go a bit more into detail.

Wade had a AuPM/g of 1.2, which is indicative of a clearly positive player, but not really a star. Around a +3 is considered an All-NBA guy for reference.

Wade had a -0.99 PIPM which is just a role player according to the PIPM scale.

These type of stats that use plus-minus data to see the type of data players are having in the PS, instead of just relying on basic box-score stats (which weren't excellent).

Next, Wade had a 3.1 RAPTOR. For reference, these are okay marks, but generally more reminiscient of a strongly positive player, but far from a certain all-star.

When Wade became injured in 2013, it really exacerbated some of the issues Miami had with a lack of spacing, as Wade wasn't flying around like he normally does on offense.

By the basic box-score in scoring, Wade lagged compared to the RS:

2013 PPG Scoring

Reg Season
LeBron: 26.8
Wade: 21.2
Bosh: 16.6

1st Round
LeBron: 24.5
Wade: 13.7
Bosh: 12.8

2nd Round
LeBron: 23.6
Wade: 12.6
Bosh: 13.6

ECF
LeBron: 29.0
Wade: 15.4
Bosh: 11.0

Finals
LeBron: 25.3
Wade: 19.6
Bosh: 11.9

Overall

Wade:
▫️15.9 PPG
▫️4.6 RPG
▫️4.8 APG
▫️46/25/75
▫️49.8 TS%(-3.1 rTS)

With a 18.7 PER and GameScore of 12.5.

2012: #1, for sure.
2013: Still #1 or #2 (Westbrook) on the regular season. After his injury... I'd go as high as #2 (pick your Spur) and as low as #3 (Conley), as Westbrook was injured (Blake Griffin as well). Hibbert, Garnett and Chandler may be arguable. Among semi-relevant teams, that's still better than Ty Lawson, out-of-position Pau Gasol, Brook Lopez, every Bull, Hawk, Rocket...

Literally depended on whether he got stem cell shots in his knee that week.