Dwyane Wade vs. Kawhi Leonard

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Who was better at peak?

Dwyane Wade
53
58%
Kawhi Leonard
39
42%
 
Total votes: 92

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Sign5
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Re: Dwyane Wade vs. Kawhi Leonard 

Post#21 » by Sign5 » Fri Sep 12, 2025 12:16 am

I'd take Wade, the playmaking and ability to put the opposing team in the bonus early gives Wade the edge imo. I get it Kawhi was a monster offensively and a superb aim bot shooter at his best but Wade himself was a monster and did win a scoring title and eclipse 30ppg, something that Kawhi never accomplished. Kawhi may have been one of the greatest perimeter defenders ever and would certainly be more versatile than Wade who was 6'4.5 at best.

However, once again Wade was quite an underrated defender himself. He's widely known as a great defender but I don't think he gets his full recognition. At 6'4 and as a guard Wade was Heat's best rim protector at times, he was no certainly no slouch defensively. People forget he was 3rd in DPOY votes in 09 and would probably have even more all defense awards if not for L.A./Lakers media market and Kobe being Kobe (who stop deserving awards post-04 but still won them due to notoriety). So with all that said I think it comes down to what you prefer or value.

With Wade you're getting an almost an all in one player minus shooting but we're in a league with the most or best shooting ever. With Kawhi you'd still need a formidable guard next to him ala Lowry/Parker etc. Definitely a flip toss comparison but yea give me Wade.
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Re: Dwyane Wade vs. Kawhi Leonard 

Post#22 » by Cavsfansince84 » Fri Sep 12, 2025 12:21 am

Kawhi's defense and 3 pt shooting in 2017(especially in the playoffs) is enough to give him the edge imo. 2019 might clear too except he only played 60 games so I might give it to 06 or 09 Wade.
aliasxn
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Re: Dwyane Wade vs. Kawhi Leonard 

Post#23 » by aliasxn » Fri Sep 12, 2025 12:38 am

Wade any day. I think Kawhi is overrated af. Any all-star caliber player would look better in the playoffs if they had the luxury of playing only half the season, especially on teams good enough to secure a high seed without them. As opposed to someone grinding through 82 games, 30+ minutes a night as the focal point of every defense, because their team would collapse without them.
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Re: Dwyane Wade vs. Kawhi Leonard 

Post#24 » by Mephariel » Fri Sep 12, 2025 12:52 am

The Kawhi Leonard that took out the Dallas Mavericks was the best player I ever seen both ways. Offense + defense. So I voted Leonard. But Wade had a much longer peak than Leonard.
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Re: Dwyane Wade vs. Kawhi Leonard 

Post#25 » by Perishable517 » Fri Sep 12, 2025 4:26 pm

Wade. All day, every day.

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