• Former NBA All-Star Jeff Teague thinks prime James Harden was better than Dwyane Wade
• Harden and Wade are among the greatest shooting guards in NBA history
• Wade is a three-time NBA Champion but Harden is a former MVP and one of the greatest scorers the league has ever seen
The generation of players that dominated the 2010s is slowly aging out of the NBA. The superstars are still around but they aren’t the 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁ers they were in their prime, with James Harden being a key example.
Harden’s place on all-time lists is fiercely debated often and it happened on 12-year veteran Jeff Teague’s podcast. He decisively declared his opinion of Harden being better in his prime than Dwyane Wade ever was.
“I got him (James Harden) over D-Wade. If you think about it, when he’s by himself, D-Wade had Shaq then he had ‘Bron. He’s never really been by himself. When he was by himself, Miami was trash… He averaged 35 for like 5 straight years with like 10 assists. he’s better than D-Wade, bro, I’m sorry… (Wade) also didn’t run into four Hall of Famers.”
Wade and Harden have different sets of accomplishments in their careers. Harden has succeeded on the individual front but hasn’t found team success with zero championships in his career.
Wade, on the other hand, sacrificed his on-court responsibilities to better teammates which allowed him to become a three-time champion.
Dwyane Wade vs. James Harden: Comparison
Dwyane Wade averaged 22.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 5.4 assists for his career. He made 13 All-Star teams and eight All-NBA teams while winning Finals MVP in 2006. Wade is considered to be the third-best shooting guard after Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, two players who heavily influenced his game.
Harden is a 10-time All-Star and seven-time All-NBA selection but also has an MVP and Sixth Man of the Year award to his name. His lack of postseason success always hurts his case as one of the greats in his position, but his statistical output cannot be doubted. He has averaged 24.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 7.0 assists for his career but had an incredible three-season stretch averaging 33.7 points and 7.9 assists.
Until Harden’s career is set in stone, we can’t decisively pick one over the other. Even though Teague is Team Harden, it seems Wade should have an edge right now because of his two-way ability and reputation as one of the best guard shot-blockers the league has ever seen.
