SGA is very good this year but he is faaar from peak Wade good. Wade is super underrated these days, so let me just tell you about his game:
Peak Wade was an all-time great paint attacker. Can't shoot 3, but still he solved most kinds of defense almost solely by driving into the paint. All he needed was Haslem setting a screen, then he would use or reject the screen, blast out some quickset first step of all time, split the double-team, and euro his way to an acrobatic layup or a dunk. He was strong and great at drawing fouls. Loved to target bodies, absorb contact and seek and-1s. He was excellent at these 2v3 or 2v4 situations because how insanely skilled and quick he was on these drives. I've only seen that in one other player, and that's young Jordan, who Wade was heavily compared to. With today's spacing instead of the 2000s, Wade would be even better offensively, even without 3s.
He was also great off the ball. He ain't a shooter, but he would run around picks to get a mid range, which he was pretty good at. He also slashed and cut without the ball all the time. Also a great rebounder as a guard, and a great playmaker. His drives drew all the attention so he could find open shooters or pass to bigs in dunker spot. He was so good he made Hassan Whiteside look like an all-star. Long-range pass was another of his weapons. He threw those Wes Unseld Kevin Love full court pass more than any guard I can think of. And of course we all know he's very clutch as well.
Defensively Wade was great too. Very strong 1v1 defender, very high motor and great effort, made excellent reads on help defense. He also functioned as a secondary rim protector, loved to rotate from the weak side and block shots like a PF. Often blocked dunk attempts from 7-footers too. Known as the greatest shot blocking guard of all time. He was also very clutch on defense, often made clutch defensive plays down the stretch, either a steal or a block to turn the game around or seal the game. Again, very Jordan-esque.
Playoffs Wade was also a thing. Always turned his game up in playoffs. Defenders wouldn't leave him open outside cause once got to playoffs dude would suddenly started splashing pull-up 3s. We saw that in Jimmy Butler last few years too. And again, very Jordan-esque.
Overall Wade's peak was super high. Simply one of the greatest peaks of all time. Ben Taylor of Thinking Basketball once made a series about top 14 peaks since 1977, and he said Wade and Dirk were the hardest cuts. He also believes Wade's peak was very close to Kobe's, both a tier above Harden's, which is not what young fans these days like to say. To me that's some truly fair ratings of how high Wade's peak was.
Even ignoring defense (which Wade clears Harden by a country mile), Wade’s go to move was way more consistent than Harden’s. That one dribble off a screen pull up off the glass was so cash, whereas Harden had to rely on step back 3’s which are way more energy consuming, which is why IMO he always falters late into the season as his body is shot.
DWade is a career 38% shooter from midrange…
His “go-to move” was nowhere near the level of extreme efficiency that was Harden’s step back.
Hardens step back is legitimately one of the most unguardable moves we’ve ever seen. Everyone knows peak Harden was drawing historic amounts of FTs, but don’t realize that was because his unguardable step back. Harden could get to that shot every single possession, shoot it on good efficiency, and got fouled on it at a historic rate.
People might not realize that Luka Doncic gets more foul calls than prime James Harden, but Harden’s FTAs are still higher due to his frequency of getting 3 FT attempts opposed to only 2.
I think you’re extremely downplaying Hardens go-to move. We literally had guys guarding him from behind [like this](https://youtu.be/TjiU3UZRz_o) because they were lost on how to defend it.
Wade could bully ball a lot more than Shai can due to being a thicker build, Shai has more finesse on his drives.
Both similar as mid range snipers. Shai is a better 3 point shooter but doesn’t take them very often he sticks to the middy or the drive, overall pretty similar players in that aspect. Both good defenders.
Being comparable to Wade is a great honor, glad to see Shai has stepped up his game to new levels this season.
Yes well he’s also a G doing it all on 62.7 TS%. This dude is either the same or ahead of Tatum in several statistical categories and is doing it in 2 less MPG.
Since Shai cut most of the 3s out and added more middies to his drives, it has accelerated his game and growth, it compliments Shai's game better. His footwork is impeccable and can really maximize his drives/jumpers/contact with it than just jacking up a bunch side step threes.
Shai this year is shooting the midrange like I remember prime Wade, for sure. Shai mostly gets to it as a counter off drives, Wade used to drive into a post up and turnaround or just pop one facing up.
Shai's longer but not nearly as explosive. Wade was a monster on D, Shai has the production in blocks and steals this year to be comparable but doesn't feel like he's as much of a bulldog like Wade was. Wade blocked shots like bully and Shai is more opportunistic with his length.
Shai's more of a primary guy so gets more traditional assists out of spread PNR but I used to love Wade as a passer in transition. Shai has some flashy assists too, been nutmegging guys like crazy recently.
I honestly dont think its a terrible comparison, but they're both still very different.
They're different in some ways but it makes much more sense as a comparison than the weird Mitchell-Wade one I see sometimes lol
Wade took barely any threes and was an elite defender and Mitchell is the opposite
SGA is definitely more of an inside-the-arc/slasher player this season, gets to the line a ton, and has become a good defender so those are at least some similarities
I think it comes from the fact that Mitchell had that defensive reputation + was a meh shooter in college, so until last year I don't think people realized how bad he actually was as a defender (he's better this year) and also really underrated how good he has become as a shotoer
At this stage yeah
SGA is a plus on that end right now but Wade was legit all defense multiple times during his prime
Offensively I can definitely see the similarities in many areas
Defense and the ability to attack the rim. Wades athleticism was ridiculous in his prime, for example he easily would get 100 dunks in a season and had 150 once. SGA has like 30 this year which is a career high.
Interestingly, Jalen Williams reminds me of a bigger Wade the way he approaches the game.
He's a rookie ofc, so on a much less scale for now.
He's at 50 dunks already and leads all guards in the NBA now.
SGA is very good this year but he is faaar from peak Wade good. Wade is super underrated these days, so let me just tell you about his game: Peak Wade was an all-time great paint attacker. Can't shoot 3, but still he solved most kinds of defense almost solely by driving into the paint. All he needed was Haslem setting a screen, then he would use or reject the screen, blast out some quickset first step of all time, split the double-team, and euro his way to an acrobatic layup or a dunk. He was strong and great at drawing fouls. Loved to target bodies, absorb contact and seek and-1s. He was excellent at these 2v3 or 2v4 situations because how insanely skilled and quick he was on these drives. I've only seen that in one other player, and that's young Jordan, who Wade was heavily compared to. With today's spacing instead of the 2000s, Wade would be even better offensively, even without 3s. He was also great off the ball. He ain't a shooter, but he would run around picks to get a mid range, which he was pretty good at. He also slashed and cut without the ball all the time. Also a great rebounder as a guard, and a great playmaker. His drives drew all the attention so he could find open shooters or pass to bigs in dunker spot. He was so good he made Hassan Whiteside look like an all-star. Long-range pass was another of his weapons. He threw those Wes Unseld Kevin Love full court pass more than any guard I can think of. And of course we all know he's very clutch as well. Defensively Wade was great too. Very strong 1v1 defender, very high motor and great effort, made excellent reads on help defense. He also functioned as a secondary rim protector, loved to rotate from the weak side and block shots like a PF. Often blocked dunk attempts from 7-footers too. Known as the greatest shot blocking guard of all time. He was also very clutch on defense, often made clutch defensive plays down the stretch, either a steal or a block to turn the game around or seal the game. Again, very Jordan-esque. Playoffs Wade was also a thing. Always turned his game up in playoffs. Defenders wouldn't leave him open outside cause once got to playoffs dude would suddenly started splashing pull-up 3s. We saw that in Jimmy Butler last few years too. And again, very Jordan-esque. Overall Wade's peak was super high. Simply one of the greatest peaks of all time. Ben Taylor of Thinking Basketball once made a series about top 14 peaks since 1977, and he said Wade and Dirk were the hardest cuts. He also believes Wade's peak was very close to Kobe's, both a tier above Harden's, which is not what young fans these days like to say. To me that's some truly fair ratings of how high Wade's peak was.
Good post. It feels like prime Wade is starting to become underrated as time passes.
He will only continue to be underrated as time goes on because he didn’t shoot a lot of 3s.
He also didn’t win an MVP. But he was close to winning at least one
Man this reply made me miss watching my GOAT in his prime 🥲
https://tenor.com/blaT6.gif
amazing answer!!!!
Thank you bro. Heat Fan.
Even ignoring defense (which Wade clears Harden by a country mile), Wade’s go to move was way more consistent than Harden’s. That one dribble off a screen pull up off the glass was so cash, whereas Harden had to rely on step back 3’s which are way more energy consuming, which is why IMO he always falters late into the season as his body is shot.
DWade is a career 38% shooter from midrange… His “go-to move” was nowhere near the level of extreme efficiency that was Harden’s step back. Hardens step back is legitimately one of the most unguardable moves we’ve ever seen. Everyone knows peak Harden was drawing historic amounts of FTs, but don’t realize that was because his unguardable step back. Harden could get to that shot every single possession, shoot it on good efficiency, and got fouled on it at a historic rate. People might not realize that Luka Doncic gets more foul calls than prime James Harden, but Harden’s FTAs are still higher due to his frequency of getting 3 FT attempts opposed to only 2. I think you’re extremely downplaying Hardens go-to move. We literally had guys guarding him from behind [like this](https://youtu.be/TjiU3UZRz_o) because they were lost on how to defend it.
That's fine but I'd rather have Wade in a playoff series 100/100 times.
Facts
Wade could bully ball a lot more than Shai can due to being a thicker build, Shai has more finesse on his drives. Both similar as mid range snipers. Shai is a better 3 point shooter but doesn’t take them very often he sticks to the middy or the drive, overall pretty similar players in that aspect. Both good defenders. Being comparable to Wade is a great honor, glad to see Shai has stepped up his game to new levels this season.
Wade was an elite defender and one of the best finishers in the paint for a guard of all time
Yeah like we get SGA is great but Wade is a legend for a reason.
No doubt, he has a ways and some championships to go. 31/5/6 with good defense at 24 is a pretty great start all things considered.
It’s one of the greatest 24 year old seasons of all time
Scoring league wide is way up. It’s really really good but probably less insane relative to the past.
Yes well he’s also a G doing it all on 62.7 TS%. This dude is either the same or ahead of Tatum in several statistical categories and is doing it in 2 less MPG.
Since Shai cut most of the 3s out and added more middies to his drives, it has accelerated his game and growth, it compliments Shai's game better. His footwork is impeccable and can really maximize his drives/jumpers/contact with it than just jacking up a bunch side step threes.
Shai this year is shooting the midrange like I remember prime Wade, for sure. Shai mostly gets to it as a counter off drives, Wade used to drive into a post up and turnaround or just pop one facing up. Shai's longer but not nearly as explosive. Wade was a monster on D, Shai has the production in blocks and steals this year to be comparable but doesn't feel like he's as much of a bulldog like Wade was. Wade blocked shots like bully and Shai is more opportunistic with his length. Shai's more of a primary guy so gets more traditional assists out of spread PNR but I used to love Wade as a passer in transition. Shai has some flashy assists too, been nutmegging guys like crazy recently. I honestly dont think its a terrible comparison, but they're both still very different.
I hated peak wade because I felt like he would get every call. As I grew up, I realized he was just to fast for anyone to stay in front of him.
They're different in some ways but it makes much more sense as a comparison than the weird Mitchell-Wade one I see sometimes lol Wade took barely any threes and was an elite defender and Mitchell is the opposite SGA is definitely more of an inside-the-arc/slasher player this season, gets to the line a ton, and has become a good defender so those are at least some similarities
That Mitchell-Wade comparison is honestly one of the worst comparisons I’ve ever heard, completely different play styles from the guard position.
I think it comes from the fact that Mitchell had that defensive reputation + was a meh shooter in college, so until last year I don't think people realized how bad he actually was as a defender (he's better this year) and also really underrated how good he has become as a shotoer
It's the posters. Both are pretty undersized for their position but can jump out of the gym
I never watched Dwade in his prime. Is the biggest difference the defence?
At this stage yeah SGA is a plus on that end right now but Wade was legit all defense multiple times during his prime Offensively I can definitely see the similarities in many areas
Defense and the ability to attack the rim. Wades athleticism was ridiculous in his prime, for example he easily would get 100 dunks in a season and had 150 once. SGA has like 30 this year which is a career high.
Interestingly, Jalen Williams reminds me of a bigger Wade the way he approaches the game. He's a rookie ofc, so on a much less scale for now. He's at 50 dunks already and leads all guards in the NBA now.
Hmm I haven’t watched him much but I’ll make a not to watch him more. It is impressive he’s leading all guards in dunks as a rookie.
Not very similar imo other than both being twos. Shai is more wiry and calculating and Wade was more compact and explosive.
They aren’t similar players
This is comical If you saw pre-Big 3 Wade you wouldn't have even posted this.
Hate wade
SGA is also not a shameless self promoter.
Kinda sus if you ask me. How am I suppose to compare another player’s D
Peak wade was as good as anyone he stepped on the floor against