Kids these days remember Dwyane Wade as a suave shooting guard who built his game around slashing to the rim. But in his prime, Wade was a two-way beast and is often regarded as one of the best defensive guards in NBA history. He also has stats to back up this claim. He was the 5th ever guard in NBA history to record 100+ blocks and 100+ steals in a single season.
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Wade took to his Instagram to flex his achievement and notably pointed out how no guard has managed this milestone since his 2009 season. That season saw the Flash record 176 steals and 106 blocks in 79 games.
Of course, these stats are impressive on their own, but his offensive output of 30.2 points, 7.5 assists, and 5 rebounds just further solidified his status as an all-time great two-way player.
Wade joined an elite list of George Gervin, Michael Jordan (x2), Reggie Lewis, and Tracy McGrady as the only other guards to achieve such defensive stats.
The caption on his story made it clear that Wade doesn’t think any guard in the NBA is capable of achieving heights like this again. “You’ll never see this again,” he wrote, and he may be right.
Wade on IG pic.twitter.com/MupMvrLNmC
— tragicpatek (@tragicpatek) March 30, 2025
Of course, we may never see this again, but that’s not going to stop players from trying. Two-way threats like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are always capable of registering these numbers over an 82-game season, but as of right now, the closest name to Wade’s achievement is the Rockets’ Amen Thompson, who has 89 steals and 80 blocks to his name.
Wade’s injuries ruined what may have been an all-time two-way career, as the repeated injuries he sustained to his knees slowly chipped away at his lateral speed and elevation.
Despite being such a good defender, even Wade had players he regretted going up against, and he revealed who gave him the most problems on an old episode of All The Smoke.
One archetype of player gave Dwyane Wade nightmares
Most of the guards in the 2000s couldn’t really find a way to get past Dwyane Wade. His speed, size, athleticism, and ability to predict plays made him a very, very hard defender, but even the man himself admitted that he had a hard time guarding players who built their game around movement.
When speaking to Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson on All The Smoke, he admitted he hated guarding players who used to move without the ball. His most prominent examples? Rip Hamilton and Ray Allen.
“I always go with guys like (Ray) Allen and Rip Hamilton. They move… I hated guarding those dudes,” he said. “I hated guarding Rip, I hated guarding Ray, just guys like that, you know, move that constantly.”
Allen being hard to guard is understandable, he was a huge part of the Celtics’ 2008 ring, and his off-ball movement and shooting demoralised a lot of defenders. Hamilton, on the other hand, was a scrappy player. According to Wade, Hamilton “had them nails too,” which made him infinitely harder to guard.
