“Donovan Mitchell is the modern day Dwyane Wade”: Kendrick Perkins explains how the Jazz star is similar to the Heat legend

Kendrick Perkins said that he believes Donovan Mitchell is a ‘modern day version of Dwyane Wade’.

With a multitude of NBA legends retiring in the past 4 years, such as Kobe Bryant, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Dwyane Wade, this has ushered in a new class of stars, to take their place in the league.

Comparisons between existing superstars and younger ones will always exist. For example, Ben Simmons being compared to LeBron James, DeAaron Fox to John Wall, or Darius Garland to Damian Lillard.

It’s how we get a fair idea on what a young player’s potential and ceiling can be. A player who has received numerous comparisons to Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade, is Utah Jazz’s Donovan Mitchell.

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Kendrick Perkins sees similarities between Donovan Mitchell and Dwyane Wade

Kendrick Perkins has reignited the ‘Mitchell-Wade’ comparisons. He spoke with Heavy.com’s Brandon Robinson and delved deep into why he believes Spida is the second coming of the 3x champion.

“The way he moves through the lane, how crafty he is, even with the walk and the shoulders and all,” said Perk. He continued with, “It’s something about his swag that’s D-Wade-ish. When you look at D-Wade, when he first came in, he was dunking everything. He was super athletic. That’s who Donovan Mitchell is. He is the modern day D-Wade.”

DONOVAN MITCHELL CLUTCH. 🔥🔥pic.twitter.com/Ng37joO3uP

— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) December 29, 2020

Is Kendrick Perkins right with his assessment?

Comparisons of Donovan Mitchell to Dwyane Wade are nothing new. Coming into the league, Mitchell’s explosiveness to the rim, his athleticism, and his change of pace were all quite reminiscent of a young ‘Flash’.

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Both Mitchell and Wade play the shooting guard position for the most part, and are both undersized at that position. One aspect of Donovan Mitchell’s game that isn’t all to similar to Wade’s is that the latter was a far superior on ball defender. He made several All-Defense teams, as opposed to none from Mitchell. It is however, only his 4^th year in the league.

Whether Donovan Mitchell can live up to the superstar hype that is being built around him is yet to be seen. One thing is for sure though; and that’s he got paid like a superstar, signing a 5 year/$195 million deal.