There’s been a healthy debate among NBA fans lately over which player is better: Dwyane Wade or James Harden? Patrick Beverley stirred the pot this weekend by saying he’d go with Harden due to his longevity, but the hosts of the Run It Back podcast had other ideas. They went with Wade because he was a more impactful player who’s had more team success, winning three titles to Harden’s goose egg.
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Like Beverley, Chandler Parsons was a teammate of Harden’s during his playing days. He acknowledged that he had the best year of his career while playing with Harden, and both he and cohost Lou Williams called the Beard “a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer,” but in the end, they just couldn’t rank him above Wade.
Parsons praised Harden for having a more innovative and creative offensive game, but he puts him a tier below Wade, who he says is up there with the all-time greats.
“When you look at the top three shooting guards, in my opinion, it’s MJ, Kobe, and Dwyane Wade, and then probably you get to James Harden.”
Parsons also mentioned that Klay Thompson and Reggie Miller deserve to be in the conversation because of their shooting ability but that Wade’s overall body of work is more impressive. Lou Williams agreed, saying, “Dwyane Wade shifted culture in Miami and turned that team into a champion… James is still seeking that type of success.”
Who really has the edge: Wade or Harden?
Although Harden has Wade beat in terms of longevity, Wade’s ability to rise to the occasion in the postseason, such as when he put the Heat on his back in the 2006 Finals to beat the Mavericks, gives him a clear edge.
Conversely, Harden has had some of his worst moments in the postseason, like the time he set an ignominious playoff record with 13 turnovers and a season-ending Game 5 loss to the Warriors in the 2015 Western Conference Finals, or when he scored 10 points and fouled out in a 39-point elimination loss to the Spurs in 2017.
Draymond Green, whose Warriors were 4-0 against Harden’s Rockets in the playoffs, also went with Wade, though, like the Run It Back guys, he praised Harden too. “James Harden is so f***ing good. But the reason I’m going to pick D-Wade, I’m going to pick D-Wade, and he won championships and he won a championship as Finals MVP, carrying a team in his third year.”
Green also said that Harden made more of an impact when he shifted to more of a point guard role, so if we’re talking about best 2-guards of all-time, then Wade clearly has to be above him.
At the end of the day, both are excellent players. Just like Wade, Harden will be in the Hall of Fame some day, but he’s still playing, so there’s still time to win people to his side in this debate. His Clippers are currently eighth in the West but just a game behind Green’s Warriors for the sixth seed.
If Harden can lead his team on an improbable run this year, it might be enough to shift the argument, but it will be an uphill battle against the likes of the Thunder, the Lakers, and his old team, the Rockets.
