The Elite (James Harden and Dwyane Wade)
This is where even the most die-hard of Heat fans will have trouble vouching for the Marquette product. While Wade is still an elite guard, he is not the player that Harden currently is. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Harden is the face of all two-guards in the current NBA, averaging over 25 points a game each of the last two seasons with the Houston Rockets. He ranked fifth in MVP voting in 2013-14, and at the age of 25, it’s hard not to believe that he has yet to reach his peak.
What Harden is today is what Wade was for the Heat up until 2011—a guard who penetrated through the paint with fearless aggression. The Houston Rocket makes his living at the free-throw line, averaging 9.1 attempts per game from the charity stripe. From 2005-2010, Wade averaged at least 9.1 attempts a game from the free-throw line in each one of those seasons.
The bottom line is this-Wade is 32 years old. Harden is seven years younger than the Heat great. Having said that, if this was Wade at 25 in comparison to the current version of Harden, I think we’d know where the advantage lies.
The Verdict
Contrary to media rhetoric, D3 is still the second-best shooting guard in the NBA. Yes, he played in only 54 regular season games in 2014. Yes, he looked old and tired in the 2014 NBA Finals. And there is little doubt that the ailing injuries that have bothered him over recent seasons will continue to bother him until he finally calls it a career.
However, with the exception of Harden, there isn’t a single two-guard in the NBA that can carry a team like Wade.
Entering the 2014-15 season, the man they call ‘Flash’ still remains an elite shooting guard.
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