After Paul Pierce’s recent comments about his own career being better than Dwyane Wade’s, fans and experts alike are chiming in on the debate.
Miami Heat fans were livid with the declaration from Pierce.
On NBA TV, Caron Butler and Dahntay Jones weighed in on the former Boston Celtics star’s career against Wade’s.
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Caron Butler and Dahntay Jones compare Dwyane Wade and Paul Pierce's NBA careers 🧐#GameTime Live pic.twitter.com/kYazUqoJ8B
— NBA TV (@NBATV) April 7, 2019
Butler was hesitant to debate the topic because he feels both have accomplished so much in their careers. Both players will go down as all-time greats, but Butler admitted that he thinks Wade has had the more impressive career.
“When you talk about career comparisons, I hate when we do that. I really do because why can’t they both be great in that respective space,” Butler said. “But since we’re going down that path and we’re talking about how great they were and Paul brought up the discussion of who was better and he felt like he was better in his prime. You look at what Dwyane Wade’s been able to accomplish, and Paul was a hell of a player, but Dwyane [is a] two-way guy, perennial All-Star.
“When you tell the story of basketball and you talk about the top three two-guards ever to play the game of basketball, here’s your list: Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade or Allen Iverson. Pick your choice. That’s how that list will start and end. But when you talk about the best small forwards ever to play the game of basketball, LeBron James, Larry Bird, Dr. J (Julius Erving), Kevin Durant, all those guys and [Paul Pierce] is probably just a little bit from five on out on the outside looking in.”
Jones tended to agree with Butler in the debate. He felt like it is difficult to compare the two because Pierce and Wade play different positions. While he didn’t want to choose between the two, he leaned towards Wade in the debate.
“They should never be compared at this point in time because they play two different positions. … D-Wade was a two-way player, D-Wade three-time All-Defensive team, and he has a scoring championship,” Jones said. “He’s played multiple roles in his NBA journey. He’s been a Finals MVP, a champion, All-Defensive team, All-NBA, he has better numbers across the board than Paul Pierce. But I don’t even feel comfortable comparing the two because we shouldn’t have to.”
The general consensus seems to be that Wade had the better career, but there is a bigger takeaway from the Pierce versus Wade debate. Asking Pierce the question in the first place was meant to spark debate and uproar more than anything else.
Obviously, a player as competitive as Pierce is going to choose himself over most guys. The outrage and debate in the wake of Pierce’s comments shouldn’t come as a surprise.
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