Dwyane Wade will step onto an NBA court for one last time on Wednesday night and put the cap on a remarkable career.
But as we asked with Dirk Nowitzki, the other legend in Dallas who will call it quits after 21 NBA seasons, what is Wade’s legacy?
There’s no doubt the incredible Wade is a first-ballot Hall of Famer. But is he one of the greatest shooting guards ever to lace ’em up? And if so, where does he rank on that all-time list?
Here’s the definitive answer for now as the 2018-19 regular season — and Wade’s career — comes to a close:
10. Ray Allen
18.9 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 3.4 apg, 0.2 bpg, 1.1 spg, 45.2 FG%, 40.0 3FG%, 89.4 FT%, 10 All-Star games, two championships
I would have loved to see him in a shooting contest against the next guy in their respective primes.
9. Reggie Miller
18.2 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 3.0 apg, 0.2 bpg, 1.1 spg, 47.1 FG%, 39.5 3FG%, 88.8 FT%, five All-Star games
I had a hard time ranking him and Allen, but maybe it’s the heartbroken Knicks fan in me that has me biased here.
8. George Gervin
25.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.0 bpg, 1.2 spg, 50.4 FG%, 27.1 3FG%, 84.1 FT%, 12 All-Star games, four scoring titles
Just watch this. He could fly.
7. James Harden
24.3 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 6.2 apg, 0.5 bpg, 1.6 spg, 44.3 FG%, 36.5 3FG%, 85.7 FT%, seven All-Star games, one MVP
Don’t you laugh. I’m serious. He might finish this season with the seventh-most ppg in a year (AND HE MIGHT NOT WIN MVP!). He has seven seasons of 25-plus ppg and two 30-point seasons. He nearly averaged a triple-double two years ago. His defense has gotten better. And he’s only 29. I might be projecting a bit with this placement.
6. Clyde Drexler
20.4 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 5.6 apg, 0.7 bpg, 2.0 spg, 47.2 FG%, 31.8 3FG%, 78.8 FT%, 10 All-Star games, one championship
I took about 10 minutes flip-flopping him and the guy just ahead of him. Drexler never won a points per game title, but he was a scoring machine.
5. Allen Iverson
26.7 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 6.2 apg, 0.2 bpg, 2.2 spg, 42.5 FG%, 31.3 3FG%, 78.0 FT%, 11 All-Star games, four scoring titles, one MVP
I might get some hatemail for putting AI above Clyde the Glide and The Iceman. Maybe it’s because Iverson did all of that above while standing at just 6 feet tall, seven inches shorter than Gervin. The lack of rings will be glaring, but maybe he would have won one if his teammates weren’t Theo Ratliff, Eric Snow, Dikembe Mutombo and Aaron McKie the year the Sixers made it to the NBA Finals against Kobe and Shaq.
4. Dwyane Wade
22.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 5.4 apg, 1.5 spg, 0.8 bpg, 48.0 FG%, 29.3 3FG%, 76.5 FT%, 13 All-Star games, one scoring title, three championships
I feel like those stats don’t even tell the complete tale. In his prime, he was efficient, clutch and a nasty two-way player who blocked a ton of shots despite his 6-foot-4 stature. His postseasons were even better than some of his regular-season numbers.
3. Jerry West
27.0 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 6.7 apg, 47.4 FG%, 81.4 FT%, 14 All-Star games, one scoring title, one championship
I feel like The Logo is consistently underrated. How easily we forget what a scorer he was (30 ppg or more four times in 14 seasons). I don’t care that he lost in the NBA Finals nine times and won just once, or that it happened in an era with fewer teams in the league. He made the Finals NEARLY EVERY YEAR HE PLAYED.
2. Kobe Bryant
25.0 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 4.7 apg, 1.4 spg, 44.7 FG%, 32.9 3FG%, 83.7 FT%, 18 All-Star games, two scoring titles, five championships, one MVP
Of his 20 NBA seasons, 15 of them ended with 20 ppg or more. Astounding.
1. Michael Jordan
30.1 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 5.3 apg, 0.8 bpg, 2.3 spg, 49.7 FG%, 32.7 3FG%, 83.5 FT%, 14 All-Star games, 10 scoring titles, five MVPs, six championships
The GOAT. Obviously.
