LeBron 2016 NBA Finals vs Wade 2006 NBA Finals

[AMW27]

Which performance would you say was the most impressive?

[falcolombardi]

lebron in part because of the great defense played

[No-more-rings]

I think Wade’s offense was more impressive given the context, i mean the guy averaged 39 ppg on 62 ts% in the last 4 games which accounted for 40% of his team’s points. Kyrie alone offered more offensive support than any of Wade’s teammates easily. Still with that said, overall performance goes to Lebron because his defense was amped up to a level that Wade at 6’4 would’ve never been capable of. Lebron’s two way play in that series can only be rivaled by true goat contenders. Someone like a Wade or Kobe type could’ve never had a series like that.

[Stan]

Wade had to carry a significantly greater scoring burden, and what he did over those last 4 games is legendary stuff. But when you factor in LeBron's overall performance (leading both teams in every category) and the opponent he faced, LeBron's the clear choice here imo.

[McBubbles]

I think Wade’s offense was more impressive given the context, i mean the guy averaged 39 ppg on 62 ts% in the last 4 games which accounted for 40% of his team’s points. Kyrie alone offered more offensive support than any of Wade’s teammates easily. Still with that said, overall performance goes to Lebron because his defense was amped up to a level that Wade at 6’4 would’ve never been capable of. Lebron’s two way play in that series can only be rivaled by true goat contenders. Someone like a Wade or Kobe type could’ve never had a series like that.

Am I the only one that puts an Asterisk on Wade's performance? It's a performance tied solely to the over officiating taking place in the 06 season that imo wasn't indicative of his actual ability. He almost got the NBA record most FTA per game in the Finals, and is second all time in that regard. It'd be like if for a single season the NBA decided to make 3's from Steph Curry range worth 5 points instead of 3 and then Curry dominates. It wouldn't carry the same weight.
In order of who's averaged the most FTA in the Finals, the top 20 are:

Shaq with 17
Wade with 16.3 in 06.
Shaq again with 15.5
Shaq again with 15.2
Mikan with 14.3
Giannis with 14.2
Baylor with 14.1
Pettit with 13.9
Pettit with 13.2
West with 12.9
West with 12.4
West with 12.1
Barry, Chamberlain and Pettit all with 12.0
West with 11.9
Moses Malone with 11.8
Michael Jordan with 11.7
Joe Fulks with 11.7
Dwight Howard with 11.2

One of those things is not like the others. A tonne of big men, a tonne pre-merger players, MJ who took 27 shots a game and got 12 free throws and then Wade all the way at the top with 23 shots a game and 16 free throws.

[No-more-rings]

I think Wade’s offense was more impressive given the context, i mean the guy averaged 39 ppg on 62 ts% in the last 4 games which accounted for 40% of his team’s points. Kyrie alone offered more offensive support than any of Wade’s teammates easily. Still with that said, overall performance goes to Lebron because his defense was amped up to a level that Wade at 6’4 would’ve never been capable of. Lebron’s two way play in that series can only be rivaled by true goat contenders. Someone like a Wade or Kobe type could’ve never had a series like that.

Am I the only one that puts an Asterisk on Wade's performance? It's a performance tied solely to the over officiating taking place in the 06 season that imo wasn't indicative of his actual ability. He almost got the NBA record most FTA per game in the Finals, and is second all time in that regard. It'd be like if for a single season the NBA decided to make 3's from Steph Curry range worth 5 points instead of 3 and then Curry dominates. It wouldn't carry the same weight.
In order of who's averaged the most FTA in the Finals, the top 20 are:

Shaq with 17
Wade with 16.3 in 06.
Shaq again with 15.5
Shaq again with 15.2
Mikan with 14.3
Giannis with 14.2
Baylor with 14.1
Pettit with 13.9
Pettit with 13.2
West with 12.9
West with 12.4
West with 12.1
Barry, Chamberlain and Pettit all with 12.0
West with 11.9
Moses Malone with 11.8
Michael Jordan with 11.7
Joe Fulks with 11.7
Dwight Howard with 11.2

One of those things is not like the others. A tonne of big men, a tonne pre-merger players, MJ who took 27 shots a game and got 12 free throws and then Wade all the way at the top with 23 shots a game and 16 free throws.

I mean this has been argued probably endless amount of times. If you go back and rewatch a few of those games, you might be surprised at how many of the free throws were actually legit. Dallas wasn't equipped to deal with someone like Wade(really no one was that year), and he drove relentlessly since it was obvious they couldn't keep him out of the paint. It's not like he was flopping for half his fouls like Harden would.

Putting an asterisk on an entire series because you didn't like some of the calls seems a little lazy imo. Sometimes people act like he did nothing but shoot free throws, in game 3 he shot 14/26 from the field and had 13 rebounds, in game 4 he shot 13/23, in game 6 he shot 10/18, had 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals and 3 blocks. Wade definitely deserved to win with the way he playing, I don't think that much should be taken away.

[Peregrine01]

Lebron's 2016 Finals might be the greatest series ever played by a player. The Heat winning in 2006 had as much to do with the defense played by Zo, Haslem and Posey as it had to do with Wade breaking records getting to the line.

[Peregrine01]

I think Wade’s offense was more impressive given the context, i mean the guy averaged 39 ppg on 62 ts% in the last 4 games which accounted for 40% of his team’s points. Kyrie alone offered more offensive support than any of Wade’s teammates easily. Still with that said, overall performance goes to Lebron because his defense was amped up to a level that Wade at 6’4 would’ve never been capable of. Lebron’s two way play in that series can only be rivaled by true goat contenders. Someone like a Wade or Kobe type could’ve never had a series like that.

Am I the only one that puts an Asterisk on Wade's performance? It's a performance tied solely to the over officiating taking place in the 06 season that imo wasn't indicative of his actual ability. He almost got the NBA record most FTA per game in the Finals, and is second all time in that regard. It'd be like if for a single season the NBA decided to make 3's from Steph Curry range worth 5 points instead of 3 and then Curry dominates. It wouldn't carry the same weight.
In order of who's averaged the most FTA in the Finals, the top 20 are:

Shaq with 17
Wade with 16.3 in 06.
Shaq again with 15.5
Shaq again with 15.2
Mikan with 14.3
Giannis with 14.2
Baylor with 14.1
Pettit with 13.9
Pettit with 13.2
West with 12.9
West with 12.4
West with 12.1
Barry, Chamberlain and Pettit all with 12.0
West with 11.9
Moses Malone with 11.8
Michael Jordan with 11.7
Joe Fulks with 11.7
Dwight Howard with 11.2

One of those things is not like the others. A tonne of big men, a tonne pre-merger players, MJ who took 27 shots a game and got 12 free throws and then Wade all the way at the top with 23 shots a game and 16 free throws.

I mean this has been argued probably endless amount of times. If you go back and rewatch a few of those games, you might be surprised at how many of the free throws were actually legit. Dallas wasn't equipped to deal with someone like Wade(really no one was that year), and he drove relentlessly since it was obvious they couldn't keep him out of the paint. It's not like he was flopping for half his fouls like Harden would.

Putting an asterisk on an entire series because you didn't like some of the calls seems a little lazy imo. Sometimes people act like he did nothing but shoot free throws, in game 3 he shot 14/26 from the field and had 13 rebounds, in game 4 he shot 13/23, in game 6 he shot 10/18, had 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals and 3 blocks. Wade definitely deserved to win with the way he playing, I don't think that much should be taken away.

I'm sure if you scrutinize any play, you'll see a lot of incidental contact. Seldom do you see it lead to multiple 20+ FTs a game in a series.

[No-more-rings]

I'm sure if you scrutinize any play, you'll see a lot of incidental contact. Seldom do you see it lead to multiple 20+ FTs a game in a series.

Well naturally...but seldom do you see people drive and attack like Wade did either.

[No-more-rings]

Lebron's 2016 Finals might be the greatest series ever played by a player. The Heat winning in 2006 had as much to do with the defense played by Zo, Haslem and Posey as it had to do with Wade breaking records getting to the line.

Zo played 11 mpg and Haslem averaged 6 points and 6 rebounds, but sure they were as important as Wade i guess.

[Peregrine01]

Lebron's 2016 Finals might be the greatest series ever played by a player. The Heat winning in 2006 had as much to do with the defense played by Zo, Haslem and Posey as it had to do with Wade breaking records getting to the line.

Zo played 11 mpg and Haslem averaged 6 points and 6 rebounds, but sure they were as important as Wade i guess.

Despite the parade to the line by Wade, Miami only managed a 101 ORTG in that series...which would've ranked dead last in the NBA that season. But they held the MAVs to a 100 ORTG, which was even worse, and an astonishing 12 pts below what the Mavs did in the regular season. This was absolutely a series decided by the defense.

[Peregrine01]

I'm sure if you scrutinize any play, you'll see a lot of incidental contact. Seldom do you see it lead to multiple 20+ FTs a game in a series.

Well naturally...but seldom do you see people drive and attack like Wade did either.

It certainly says something that the only player to rival Wade in FTs in that series was prime Shaq, who teams deliberately hacked. The reffing in that series was absolutely an anomaly.

[No-more-rings]

Lebron's 2016 Finals might be the greatest series ever played by a player. The Heat winning in 2006 had as much to do with the defense played by Zo, Haslem and Posey as it had to do with Wade breaking records getting to the line.

Zo played 11 mpg and Haslem averaged 6 points and 6 rebounds, but sure they were as important as Wade i guess.

Despite the parade to the line by Wade, Miami only managed a 101 ORTG in that series...which would've ranked dead last in the NBA that season. But they held the MAVs to a 100 ORTG, which was even worse, and an astonishing 12 pts below what the Mavs did in the regular season. This was absolutely a series decided by the defense.

And Wade had nothing to do with their defense? Considering minutes he was likely their 3rd or 4th most important defender.

The ORTG argument is garbage. The team ORTG was 101, while Wade's was 113.

Here's others:

Walker(36.5 mpg) 90 ORTG
Shaq(35.2 mpg) 95 ORTG
Williams(31.3 mpg) 103 ORTG
Posey(29.5 mpg) 108 ORTG
Haslem(29.2 mpg) 83 ORTG
Payton(22.3 mpg) 81 ORTG

With the way those guys were playing offensively, the Heat would've gotten blown off the floor in every game. Which is in line with that whole postseason. With Wade off the floor over the course of the playoffs, the Heat averaged an 87.3 ORTG(!). Wade offered an incredible lift on offense, while still being a positive on defense throughout the playoffs and finals.

[ccameron]

I'm sure if you scrutinize any play, you'll see a lot of incidental contact. Seldom do you see it lead to multiple 20+ FTs a game in a series.

Well naturally...but seldom do you see people drive and attack like Wade did either.

It certainly says something that the only player to rival Wade in FTs in that series was prime Shaq, who teams deliberately hacked. The reffing in that series was absolutely an anomaly.

Shaq also played in this series, and they hacked him a lot this series too. They were constantly over the limit of fouls, which resulted in even more free throws for Wade.

Also, the fact that the Heat didn't have a great offense is a result of the way the team was constructed, not a result of Wade's play. They were a very defense oriented team, Wade had to take over offensively, no way that team as constructed was ever going to be an offensive juggernaut, it was all Wade could do to just score enough to beat the Mavs.

Anyway a good breakdown of Wade's free throws in this series is the following video, short version is: there were some bad calls in his favor, but also (what nobody points out) missed calls that he should have gotten. That's what you would expect if Wade was attacking constantly and all the offense was going through him.

Watch on YouTube

[Dr Positivity]

Lebron as he was more dominant on defense and played against a harder opponent on that end

[migya]

Lebron's 2016 Finals might be the greatest series ever played by a player. The Heat winning in 2006 had as much to do with the defense played by Zo, Haslem and Posey as it had to do with Wade breaking records getting to the line.

Except, at least, from most of Jordan's finals performances. Olajuwon's weren't too bad either.

[AMW27]

Lebron's 2016 Finals might be the greatest series ever played by a player. The Heat winning in 2006 had as much to do with the defense played by Zo, Haslem and Posey as it had to do with Wade breaking records getting to the line.

Heat probably lose that series if Wade got just 2 -3 less free throw attempts.

[JordansBulls]

Close call overall, but Wade doing it for the franchise that drafted him and him not leaving is a major point. Also didn't have to get someone suspended to win.

[falcolombardi]

Close call overall, but Wade doing it for the franchise that drafted him and him not leaving is a major point. Also didn't have to get someone suspended to win.

wade left miami

lebron was drafted by cavs

draymond should have been suspended way more times than that, just ask my poor man Adams nuts lol

[JordansBulls]

Close call overall, but Wade doing it for the franchise that drafted him and him not leaving is a major point. Also didn't have to get someone suspended to win.

wade left miami

lebron was drafted by cavs

draymond should have been suspended way more times than that, just ask my poor man Adams nuts lol

Wade stayed in Miami and won a title and multiple. Lebron left Cleveland to win a title and joined Wade. Come on dude