How would Dwyane Wade's game/style translate now?

[jfs1000d]

He'd suck.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[FrobeBryant]

Lol

Kobe finished top 5 in MVP voting 11 times.

Wade twice.

Just stop.

We don't need to go into detail how fraudulent Kobe's awards were based on marketing himself as Jordan's heir and forcing himself to play like 96 Jordan without the shot IQ and people believed it.

Kobe ranked 4th in MVP voting, with 2 first place votes in the 2011-2012 season, a year where he had a 52.7 TS with 35.7 usage rate.

Kobe jerkers like to go off career accolades and not numbers because the numbers are bad even compared to guys like Wade who is in nobody's top 10.

Wade's 2008-2009 season is better than any Kobe season.

So all of Kobe's awards were fraudulent because of his marketability? His historic scoring and him winning rings weren't at all why he was rated so high, it was all because he had a great PR team. Wow, that is some specious reasoning.

[tsherkin]

They think 3-pointers matter, even though DeRozan has scored 23.8 points per game from 2016-2025 with .312 3-point shooting.

Mmm. But it's worth noting that, even stepping away from his dismal playoff performances, DeRozan has been a 101 TS+ player over that time, and that's during the RS. He's been a 90 TS+ guy (and 85 TS+ in two different postseasons) over the same stretch in the playoffs.

You definitely don't NEED 3pt shooting to be a strong scorer, but you do need to compensate for it in other ways. DeRozan isn't a hot example of that outside of 2020-2022. No one sane would build an offense around him if they had choice in the matter, because he really isn't worth that sort of focal volume. DeRozan's good in transition and he's a pretty good mid-range guy. 30 years ago, he'd have been a strong RS scorer. These days, not so much, especially since league average started getting north of 57% TS. Demar's very good at drawing fouls; he isn't a stunner at actually making shots. That's a setup for disappointment when the playoffs come around.

Now, things settle some in the playoffs, to be sure. And 3s come and go; many guys are heavily over-reliant on the 3, and it causes them major variance issues in the playoffs. And that's especially problematic given the volume they shoot from 3. When you're shooting 9, 10, 11 three-pointers per game, you're in deep trouble when you have a bad night, you know?

But yeah, DDR isn't a hot counterpoint.

[Mazter]

Wade averaged 35ppg 8rpg 5apg to Shaq's 13ppg. Wade dominated that series and was by far the biggest factor in Heat winning the title.. not Shaq...and uhhh outside of Hakeem and Dirk no other superstar has ever won without a bonafide co-star, so that point is pretty moot.

The regular season showed a different story. Shaq missed 23 games, and it was quite difference between the times he suited up and when he didn't.

Code: Select all

Shaq/Wade   38-16
Shaq         4-1
Wade        10-11
None         0-2
-----------------
Total       52-30


In the end we can't deny the number, Wade played 6 seasons with a All NBA first (he didn't make first team in none of those seasons) teammate, he reached the Finals 5 times winning 3 and reached the Conference Finals once in those 6 seasons. He had a 20-3 series record.

In the 10 other seasons he went 2-7 missing the play offs 3 times, 5 first round exits, and reaching the second round only twice. Yeah sure, the team might or might not been more balanced in those seasons, but that is a really big difference.

Would Wade be a star, certainly. But I think he lacked certain things outside his game that would translate to winning. And since winning is a big thing in assessing players I think top 10-15 would be his best bet, with maybe a short peak close to top 5.

[bonita_the_frog]

They think 3-pointers matter, even though DeRozan has scored 23.8 points per game from 2016-2025 with .312 3-point shooting.

Mmm. But it's worth noting that, even stepping away from his dismal playoff performances, DeRozan has been a 101 TS+ player over that time, and that's during the RS. He's been a 90 TS+ guy (and 85 TS+ in two different postseasons) over the same stretch in the playoffs.

You definitely don't NEED 3pt shooting to be a strong scorer, but you do need to compensate for it in other ways. DeRozan isn't a hot example of that outside of 2020-2022. No one sane would build an offense around him if they had choice in the matter, because he really isn't worth that sort of focal volume. DeRozan's good in transition and he's a pretty good mid-range guy. 30 years ago, he'd have been a strong RS scorer. These days, not so much, especially since league average started getting north of 57% TS. Demar's very good at drawing fouls; he isn't a stunner at actually making shots. That's a setup for disappointment when the playoffs come around.

Now, things settle some in the playoffs, to be sure. And 3s come and go; many guys are heavily over-reliant on the 3, and it causes them major variance issues in the playoffs. And that's especially problematic given the volume they shoot from 3. When you're shooting 9, 10, 11 three-pointers per game, you're in deep trouble when you have a bad night, you know?

But yeah, DDR isn't a hot counterpoint.

DeRozan was just a passing reference to a player being able to score 24ppg for a decade without relying on 3-pointers in the "3-point shooting era".
Wade is the clutch playoff version of DeRozan, not reliant on 3s either, but whenever Wade attempted A LOT of 3s he shot better than Doncic (.347) and Tatum (.348)...

In the 2009 Playoffs Wade attempted 7.1 threes per game and made .360
In the 2010 Playoffs Wade attempted 7.4 threes per game and made .405
The most Wade ever attempted in the playoffs other than that, was 2.8 threes per game in the 2017 playoffs and he made .353

[tsherkin]

DeRozan was just a passing reference to a player being able to score 24ppg for a decade without relying on 3-pointers in the "3-point shooting era".
Wade is the clutch playoff version of DeRozan, not reliant on 3s either, but whenever Wade attempted A LOT of 3s he shot better than Doncic (.347) and Tatum (.348)...

Right, but the counterpoint is "can score" and "is worth the touches to score" aren't the same thing, is sort of the point. Stackhouse had a near-30 ppg season once, but that wasn't the hottest idea ever, you know? And there are plenty of guys who score in bunches and really shouldn't.

In the 2009 Playoffs Wade attempted 7.1 threes per game and made .360
In the 2010 Playoffs Wade attempted 7.4 threes per game and made .405
The most Wade ever attempted in the playoffs other than that, was 2.8 threes per game in the 2017 playoffs and he made .353

Wade had some periods where he could hit, sure. And like I said in my earlier post, I think he'd generally do pretty well in today's environment, he just wouldn't be a legit first-tier MVP candidate.

[ShootersShoot]

Different position and tier of player... franz shot 29% from three but is a pretty highly coveted player.

[Clav]

Lol

Kobe finished top 5 in MVP voting 11 times.

Wade twice.

Just stop.

Spoiler:

We don't need to go into detail how fraudulent Kobe's awards were based on marketing himself as Jordan's heir and forcing himself to play like 96 Jordan without the shot IQ and people believed it.

Kobe ranked 4th in MVP voting, with 2 first place votes in the 2011-2012 season, a year where he had a 52.7 TS with 35.7 usage rate.

Kobe jerkers like to go off career accolades and not numbers because the numbers are bad even compared to guys like Wade who is in nobody's top 10.

Wade's 2008-2009 season is better than any Kobe season.

Warning for baiting a fanbase of a player due to language used. Please, be civil. Thank you!

-Clav

[prophet_of_rage]

M .4zx44r

Sent from my SM-S9080 using RealGM mobile app

[Sign5]

Wade averaged 35ppg 8rpg 5apg to Shaq's 13ppg. Wade dominated that series and was by far the biggest factor in Heat winning the title.. not Shaq...and uhhh outside of Hakeem and Dirk no other superstar has ever won without a bonafide co-star, so that point is pretty moot.

The regular season showed a different story. Shaq missed 23 games, and it was quite difference between the times he suited up and when he didn't.

Code: Select all

Shaq/Wade   38-16
Shaq         4-1
Wade        10-11
None         0-2
-----------------
Total       52-30


In the end we can't deny the number, Wade played 6 seasons with a All NBA first (he didn't make first team in none of those seasons) teammate, he reached the Finals 5 times winning 3 and reached the Conference Finals once in those 6 seasons. He had a 20-3 series record.

In the 10 other seasons he went 2-7 missing the play offs 3 times, 5 first round exits, and reaching the second round only twice. Yeah sure, the team might or might not been more balanced in those seasons, but that is a really big difference.

Would Wade be a star, certainly. But I think he lacked certain things outside his game that would translate to winning. And since winning is a big thing in assessing players I think top 10-15 would be his best bet, with maybe a short peak close to top 5.

You showed regular season stats to dispute Wade being the biggest factor in Heat winning the 2006 finals series. Do the random irrelevant stats you concocted add points to Shaq's 13ppg he averaged in the finals or am I missing something? Shaq had declined steadily as the season/post season progressed. Shaq was even great in the series' prior to the finals. However, I'm specifically talking about the finals if that wasn't obvious. Heat were on the cusp of being down 0-3 and it was Wade that was driving force in Heat winning it all and its not even close. Also nice job omitting or ignoring the other post in which I illustrated context into those various seasons in which he played with chumps.

The rest of what you typed doesn't even need addressing as it's irrelevant, he wasn't anywhere close to his prime in those other seasons.

Your entitled to your opinion but I strongly disagree. Though you can name the 10 players outside Jokic, Giannis, SGA, Luka who were arguably better than Wade for a good chuckle.

[Clav]

He'd suck.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hey, you're a good poster from what I've seen, but... this is not a great post, please, let's be a little better here. Other posters are making good efforts to substantiate the topic at hand. Thanks.

[threethehardway]

So all of Kobe's awards were fraudulent because of his marketability? His historic scoring and him winning rings weren't at all why he was rated so high, it was all because he had a great PR team. Wow, that is some specious reasoning.

Kobe intentionally played like Jordan, despite being bad at playing like Jordan, just so he can be compared to Jordan his entire career.

Since Jordan is associated with being the GOAT of all time, most of Kobe's acclaim is marketing. He was the It Boy of the 90s to early 2000s before his case. He won with championships with the most popular team in NBA history.

Sure, he had to win, but he won 3 championships playing with the most dominant, physically imposing player of a time.

Then he won another 2, playing the elder statesmen role.

He doesn't have a top 20 season of all time. He doesn't have a high peak. Yet some how he gets in GOAT conversations based on team and career accomplishments. That's marketing. That's the power of playing like the GOAT, so you get associated with the GOAT and thus they give you the defensive teams despite being the negative to neutral defender your entire career. They'll give you the MVP despite Chris Paul having a GOAT season for a PG.

They literally gave Wade's 1st Defensive Team awards to Kobe Wade's entire prime.

For the 2008-2009 season, Wade averaged 2.2 steals and 1.3 Blocks and Kobe averaged 1.5 steals and half a block. Somehow, Kobe ended up 1st team defense and Wade second.

For the 2010-2011 season, Kobe literally averaged a 1.2 steals a game and 0.1 blocks and he was 1st Team All Defense.
Wade averaged 1.5 steals and 1.1 blocks and didn't make an all defensive team.

Kobe's stature is mythical and media driven. It is not based in reality whatsoever, besides him having 5 rings and scoring a lot of points.

In 20 years, he will be getting the same treatment Allen Iverson got in the 2010s when we wanted to know what makes a basketball player effective.

We are going to wonder why the hell Kobe is so awarded as a player and a GOAT candidate. We will decide he was simply a cultural phenomenon that was a HOF caliber player, without any significant peaks.

[bonita_the_frog]

Wade had some periods where he could hit, sure. And like I said in my earlier post, I think he'd generally do pretty well in today's environment, he just wouldn't be a legit first-tier MVP candidate.

In the 2009 Playoffs Wade attempted 7.1 threes per game and made .360
In the 2010 Playoffs Wade attempted 7.4 threes per game and made .405
Wade led the NBA in 3-point attempts per game in the 2009 and 2010 playoffs.
When Wade chose to be, he was one of the best 3-point shooters in the NBA.

Wade would be A LOT better today than Edwards, that is for sure, and Edwards is my 2nd favorite player (Durant is my favorite) so I'm disappointed to say this.
Edwards has struggled badly in the playoffs when doubled by quality defenders, whereas Wade is arguably the greatest of all-time at splitting and beating double-teams.
Michael Jordan is probably the only man better at beating double-teams.

[airaaron32]

M .4zx44r

Sent from my SM-S9080 using RealGM mobile app

Great point bruh

[FrobeBryant]

So all of Kobe's awards were fraudulent because of his marketability? His historic scoring and him winning rings weren't at all why he was rated so high, it was all because he had a great PR team. Wow, that is some specious reasoning.

Kobe intentionally played like Jordan, despite being bad at playing like Jordan, just so he can be compared to Jordan his entire career.

Since Jordan is associated with being the GOAT of all time, most of Kobe's acclaim is marketing. He was the It Boy of the 90s to early 2000s before his case. He won with championships with the most popular team in NBA history.

Sure, he had to win, but he won 3 championships playing with the most dominant, physically imposing player of a time.

Then he won another 2, playing the elder statesmen role.

He doesn't have a top 20 season of all time. He doesn't have a high peak. Yet some how he gets in GOAT conversations based on team and career accomplishments. That's marketing. That's the power of playing like the GOAT, so you get associated with the GOAT and thus they give you the defensive teams despite being the negative to neutral defender your entire career. They'll give you the MVP despite Chris Paul having a GOAT season for a PG.

They literally gave Wade's 1st Defensive Team awards to Kobe Wade's entire prime.

For the 2008-2009 season, Wade averaged 2.2 steals and 1.3 Blocks and Kobe averaged 1.5 steals and half a block. Somehow, Kobe ended up 1st team defense and Wade second.

For the 2010-2011 season, Kobe literally averaged a 1.2 steals a game and 0.1 blocks and he was 1st Team All Defense.
Wade averaged 1.5 steals and 1.1 blocks and didn't make an all defensive team.

Kobe's stature is mythical and media driven. It is not based in reality whatsoever, besides him having 5 rings and scoring a lot of points.

In 20 years, he will be getting the same treatment Allen Iverson got in the 2010s when we wanted to know what makes a basketball player effective.

We are going to wonder why the hell Kobe is so awarded as a player and a GOAT candidate. We will decide he was simply a cultural phenomenon that was a HOF caliber player, without any significant peaks.

Lmao you lost me at "elder statements role". Now I know this is all satire.

[Lockdown504090]

Wade had some periods where he could hit, sure. And like I said in my earlier post, I think he'd generally do pretty well in today's environment, he just wouldn't be a legit first-tier MVP candidate.

In the 2009 Playoffs Wade attempted 7.1 threes per game and made .360
In the 2010 Playoffs Wade attempted 7.4 threes per game and made .405
Wade led the NBA in 3-point attempts per game in the 2009 and 2010 playoffs.
When Wade chose to be, he was one of the best 3-point shooters in the NBA.

Wade would be A LOT better today than Edwards, that is for sure, and Edwards is my 2nd favorite player (Durant is my favorite) so I'm disappointed to say this.
Edwards has struggled badly in the playoffs when doubled by quality defenders, whereas Wade is arguably the greatest of all-time at splitting and beating double-teams.
Michael Jordan is probably the only man better at beating double-teams.

you can see it in his shooting motion as well. his challenge would be lowering his set point and sequencing his shot a little differently. This is the adjustment for most players from that era of boys who grew up watching jordan Guys who are great shooters are that because they can maintain their mechanics under pressure and have good fundamentals and mechanics, along with have a good shooters mindset. there are just too many examples of guys who played in the late 2000s and early 2010s that were able to adjust by making the above adjustments to their shots. to think that a great shooter like d wade couldnt adjust. Theres literally only one player in the nba that shoot well from midrange but not the 3 in todays game.

[bonita_the_frog]

you can see it in his shooting motion as well. his challenge would be lowering his set point and sequencing his shot a little differently. This is the adjustment for most players from that era of boys who grew up watching jordan Guys who are great shooters are that because they can maintain their mechanics under pressure and have good fundamentals and mechanics, along with have a good shooters mindset. there are just too many examples of guys who played in the late 2000s and early 2010s that were able to adjust by making the above adjustments to their shots. to think that a great shooter like d wade couldnt adjust. Theres literally only one player in the nba that shoot well from midrange but not the 3 in todays game.

Exactly my thoughts

[lastb1ckman]

Old Wade didn't even retire that long ago. He was still an effective rotation player at the end after his knees took his hops. Prime Wade raised in this league would easily be the best SG in the league now and a top 5 player like he was in his prime. Especially since this is one of the weakest era for SGs.

[Thaddy]

Guards that struggle to shoot aren't the ones you want to build around. Wade would suck in the more athletic and shooting driven league.

[MMyhre]

Watch on YouTube

;t=3s

Wade entering his prime against prime Kobe. He would be a top 1-3 player in the league today, and we didnt get to see his peak as this season he got injured, and he was lost like 1,5 seasons of continuously developing and entering his prime/peak years - instead he was injured and didnt find his groove until Olympics 2008 (best player there over prime LeBron and Kobe btw) but I think he would have become even better if he did not get injured early in 2007.

Averaged 33,2 pts on 65 TS % over 5 games against the Big Four Celtics with 7 ast and a **** of steals, blocks in the 2010 playoffs with a **** team.. just a beast!