LMAO @ ESPN ranking Wade 27th best of all time...

[NBAGOAT]

I do too, although Dirk is no slouch himself. Both are borderline top 20 all-time, mad respect to both

I got Dirk slightly above Wade. What he did from 05-07 with just a decent team was just damn impressive even if it's not quite Wade 09 level. Also, he has a nice longevity edge for now.

[HiphopRelated]

The HEAT were purposely giving Wade no help to position themselves for the LeBron free agency. Wade took teams with Michael Beasley and an over the hill Jermaine O'Neal as their second best players to the playoffs , twice. Let that sink in, Michael Beasley.

Exactly, Beasley the Chinese superstar is a better player now than he was then and can't stick in the league for more than 3 months at a time.

And he was the 2nd/3rd option

[jrong]

If Wade had stayed healthy thoughout his career, he'd be a GOAT candidate, at least to the extent LeBron is. You have to remember that before 2006, he was cruising to the Finals in 2005 against the Pistons until he tore his abdominal (Shaq was already hurt).

If he picks up his first FMVP in 05, then we're looking at 06 being a repeat. If they lose to the Spurs, he still gets legacy points for leading his team to the Finals.

Then in 2007, if the shoulder injury doesn't happen, they're back in the Finals again. LeBron was great against the Pistons and all, but he wouldn't have beat a healthy Wade and a healthy Shaq by himself (and Shaq actually was healthy). So Wade would have either gotten another FMVP or at least another Finals appearance.

What does the NBA landscape look like if Wade leads a threepeat or repeat by his fourth year in the league?

And asking what if Wade never got hurt isn't the same thing as asking what if T-Mac or Penny don't get hurt. What we say about most players whose careers are derailed by injuries is that they could have become all-time greats if they hadn't gotten hurt. Wade is unique in that he became an all-time-great anyway (top 15 or 20 is his proper place), but injuries prevented him from being even greater.

[tpols]

If Wade had stayed healthy thoughout his career, he'd be a GOAT candidate, at least to the extent LeBron is. You have to remember that before 2006, he was cruising to the Finals in 2005 against the Pistons until he tore his abdominal (Shaq was already hurt).

If he picks up his first FMVP in 05, then we're looking at 06 being a repeat. If they lose to the Spurs, he still gets legacy points for leading his team to the Finals.

Then in 2007, if the shoulder injury doesn't happen, they're back in the Finals again. LeBron was great against the Pistons and all, but he wouldn't have beat a healthy Wade and a healthy Shaq by himself (and Shaq actually was healthy). So Wade would have either gotten another FMVP or at least another Finals appearance.

What does the NBA landscape look like if Wade leads a threepeat or repeat by his fourth year in the league?

And asking what if Wade never got hurt isn't the same thing as asking what if T-Mac or Penny don't get hurt. What we say about most players whose careers are derailed by injuries is that they could have become all-time greats if they hadn't gotten hurt. Wade is unique in that he became an all-time-great anyway (top 15 or 20 is his proper place), but injuries prevented him from being even greater.

thats a whole lot of what ifs..



But Wade didnt get hurt like tmac and penny.. sure hes had his injuries, but hes had a much longer prime than them and is even much healthier in old age.