Former Boston Celtics enforcer Kendrick Perkins pondered as to whether Chris Bosh was in fact the Miami Heat’s No. 2 during the LeBron James era in lieu of Dwyane Wade.
“A.D. (Anthony Davis) in the bubble was putting up Shaq (Shaquille O’Neal)-type numbers,” Perkins said regarding the big man’s level of play during the Los Angeles Lakers’ title run. “I want to say it’s A.D., then I wanna say it’s Ky (Kyrie Irving) next. But man, to be down 3-1 and to pull off something that has never been done in NBA history.
“… So here’s the thing about D-Wade, and I love D-Wade right? The thing that’s throwing me off about D-Wade is when I’m hearing so many guys come out and start saying things like Chris Bosh was the most important player to their success far as them winning the two championships and now it comes back to me it’s like, was D-Wade the No. 2 or was Bosh really the No. 2?
“… D-Wade got it done by himself with Shaq when he won Finals MVP, but at the end of the day it’s like who was really that co-star to LeBron James? Who was that Robin at the time? Was it Bosh or was it Wade? I understand it was ‘Wade County’ but did Wade take a back seat?”
Wade and Bosh played alongside James on the Heat for four seasons, from the 2010-11 season through the 2013-14 campaign. Though both players made All-Star appearances during all four years, from a statistical standpoint, Wade stands out as the more productive player for Miami during the James era.
The former Marquette University standout averaged significantly more points (22.2 compared to 17.3), assists (4.7 compared to 1.6) and steals (1.6 as opposed to 0.9) per game while also averaging just 2.1 fewer rebounds and 0.1 fewer blocks per contest during that four-year span.
But while Wade’s numbers suggest he played at a higher level than Bosh did during the stretch in question, both were still invaluable parts to an era of Heat basketball where the team managed to reach four NBA Finals in a row and win two titles.
Starting with Bosh, he played in 78 playoff games with James and Wade and averaged 14.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per contest. An overlooked part of his offensive game come playoff time was his ability to score the ball from deep, considering he knocked down 40.6 percent of his shots from deep during his playoff career in Miami.
Additionally, in Miami’s playoff run to the NBA title back in 2012, Bosh connected on an otherworldly 53.8 percent of his tries from deep across 14 games played and 10 starts.
Wade, on the other hand, didn’t put up the gaudy scoring numbers he did earlier in his NBA career by the time he joined forces with James, but he still served as an effective secondary option. He averaged 15.9-plus points per game in each of his four playoff runs during the James era, including 24.5 points per game in the 2011 NBA Playoffs.
All in all, it’s hard to deny that Wade was actually Miami’s No. 2 when looking at the numbers, but it’s safe to say that the Heat franchise wouldn’t have three titles to its name if it weren’t for the contributions of Bosh and Wade.