Monday, October 24th, 2011 at 11:27 am  |  526 responses

Top 50: Dwyane Wade, no. 5

The definitive ranking of the NBA’s best players.

by Maurice Bobb / @ReeseReport

Don’t worry, Dwyane Wade didn’t drop one spot in our rankings this year as some sort of penalty for his heated exchange with NBA Commissioner David Stern during the lockout meeting. In fact, we loved the passion. And no, Flash didn’t get bumped in the rankings because he didn’t win the 2011 NBA Championship as the ringleader of the highly favored Heatles. The reason he went from No. 4 last year to No. 5 this year is simple: One player got that much better and proved that he deserved a promotion into the Top 5. So as much as it pained us to do it, Wade had to acquiesce his position on this list.

But No. 5 is no consolation prize. Not by a long shot.

As a Top 5 player in the world, Wade still makes the grade as an elite player and superstar that a franchise can hang its hat on and here’s two key reasons why:Dwyane Wade

1. Wade is still an elite scorer.

With his poetic collection of stutter steps, swoops and glides, Wade gets to the basket at will, shaking opponents on D with that patented staccato footwork, slicing to the rim with the certainty of an object caught in a magnetic field’s line of force. The only player in recent memory who could match Flash’s ability to get to the rack, Allen Iverson, is no longer lacing ‘em up for the L. And when Miami needed buckets in the postseason, Wade got ‘em to the tune of 24.5 ppg, good for the sixth best average in the postseason.

2. Wade is still an elite defender.

We all know he was robbed of his rightful place on the NBA All Defensive First Team. Not only is Wade’s perimeter defense (on ball and off the ball) top notch, his ability to protect the rim is uncanny. Remember when he got all Alonzo Mourning on Dallas during the Finals and denied Tyson Chandler at the rim for a dunk? How many 6-4 guards you know that could do that? Not surprisingly, Wade averaged 1.1 blocks a contest all season and 1.3 during the postseason. Wade is also one of the best in the League at getting a steal when his team needs it most.

A two-way player with a maniacal killer instinct? That’s Wade. But if Wade is so great, why is he at the bottom of the top five?

Here’s where things get tricky.

While Wade is clearly the Alpha Male of the Heat, his own teammate, LeBron James, is considered the better individual player. Confusing? Of course it is.

This is easy to understand, though: During the ’11-12 season, James will further establish himself in Miami and Wade’s reign as the King of South Beach will begin to wane. How can we be so sure? It’s already happening.

After Flash allowed James and Chris Bosh to ride shotgun last year, his numbers took a small hit, dropping to 25.5 ppg down from 26.6 ppg and 4.6 apg down from 6.5 apg. And even though he jumped in field goal percentage to 50 percent from 47 percent the previous year and his rebounds jumped from 4.8 to 6.4, James led the team in all those same categories (except rebounding led by Bosh at a meager 8.3 per) and had a legitimate MVP caliber season.

Additionally, Wade has a long history of injuries and his penchant for journeying into the lane with reckless abandon doesn’t bode well for his long-term durability.

Still, I can’t think of any team that wouldn’t ride or die with a player who can single-handedly take over a game anytime he wants to when healthy. Seriously, Wade is a one-man wrecking crew. He can’t be stopped—when he’s healthy.

Dallas may have shocked the world last season for the title, but I’d bet the farm that Miami will be right back in the mix for the O’Brien trophy next season and Wade will be more than instrumental in making that happen.

SLAMonline Top 50 Players 2011
Rank Player Team Position Pos. Rank
50 Luol Deng Bulls SF 8
49 Andrew Bogut Bucks C 7
48 Ray Allen Celtics SG 9
47 Marc Gasol Grizzlies C 6
46 David West Hornets PF 15
45 Kevin Martin Rockets SG 8
44 Andrew Bynum Lakers C 5
43 Brandon Jennings Bucks PG 11
42 Lamar Odom Lakers PF 14
41 Gerald Wallace Blazers SF 7
40 Brook Lopez Nets C 4
39 Joakim Noah Bulls C 3
38 Carlos Boozer Bulls PF 13
37 Kevin Garnett Celtics PF 12
36 Eric Gordon Clippers SG 7
35 Tony Parker Spurs PG 10
34 Andre Iguodala 76ers SG 6
33 Al Jefferson Jazz PF 11
32 Al Horford Hawks C 2
31 Stephen Curry Warriors PG 9
30 Tim Duncan Spurs PF 10
29 Josh Smith Hawks PF 9
28 Manu Ginobili Spurs SG 5
27 Tyreke Evans Kings PG 8
26 Rudy Gay Grizzlies SF 6
25 John Wall Wizards PG 7
24 Danny Granger Pacers SF 5
23 Monta Ellis Warriors SG 4
22 Joe Johnson Hawks SG 3
21 Paul Pierce Celtics SF 4
20 Steve Nash Suns PG 6
19 Zach Randolph Grizzlies PF 8
18 LaMarcus Aldridge Blazers PF 7
17 Chris Bosh Heat PF 6
16 Kevin Love TWolves PF 5
15 Rajon Rondo Celtics PG 5
14 Blake Griffin Clippers PF 4
13 Pau Gasol Lakers PF 3
12 Russell Westbrook Thunder PG 4
11 Amar’e Stoudemire Knicks PF 2
10 Deron Williams Nets PG 3
9 Carmelo Anthony Knicks SF 3
8 Chris Paul Hornets PG 2
7 Dirk Nowitzki Mavs PF 1
6 Dwight Howard Magic C 1
5 Dwyane Wade Heat SG 2

Notes
• Rankings are based solely on projected ’11-12 performance.
• Contributors to this list include: Maurice Bobb, Shannon Booher, David Cassilo, Bryan Crawford, Sandy Dover, Adam Figman, Jon Jaques, Eldon Khorshidi, Ryne Nelson, Doobie Okon, Ben Osborne, Quinn Peterson, Dave Schnur, Abe Schwadron, Dan Shapiro, Irv Soonachan, Todd Spehr, Tzvi Twersky, Yaron Weitzman, DeMarco Williams and Ben York.
• Want more of the SLAMonline Top 50? Check out the archive.

  • Add a Comment
  • Share
  • RSS

Tags: , , , ,

← Older Comments
Newer Comments →
  • http://itsahardwoodlife.blogspot.com omphalos

    @Maniac; I was watching the playoffs where he killed my Celtics. Lebron was forced to shoot from the outside, and yet Wade literally could not be stopped. Whenever we were about to go on a run Wade seemingly made a stop or scored a bucket. He essentially nullified Ray Allen to boot. As far as my logic ala Rose/Durant/Wade, allow me to explain more clearly. 1) Wade is superior to Rose given that they share the same strengths (scoring, athleticism, clutch play), but Rose’s weakness (D) is one of Wade’s strength. 2) KD and Wade are both great scorers, but KD is better and the difference between their abilities in scoring is enough to bridge the gap between their defensive deficincies when you factor in rebounding also. Therefore, Rose<Wade<Durant. Bearing in mind this is all MY OPINION, the logic is consistent, it's just a matter of whether you agree with me assessment/valuation of the attributes of the players concerned. But if you buy my premise, the conclusion is logically sound.

  • http://itsahardwoodlife.blogspot.com omphalos

    Also, I should add that he was having health concerns AFAIK against the Bulls, and still guarded Rose for much of the series until Lebron took over with fresh legs in the 4th quarters.

  • JEr dawg

    The top 5 players from now on is all about splitting hairs. ANY of these guys people want on their team.
    Wade at #5 is a surprise. I really thought Kobe would be right here. But he isn’t and once slam reveals his name there could be a system crash and unbelievable feedback comments. Maybe a new record will be set just because Kobe’s so polarizing. Of remaining guys one 1 doesn’t appear to have a killer instinct. And all remaining guys have signature shoes, how awesome is that? I’m in suspense SLAM. If Rose is #4 then all is right. But if he isn’t and some forward is left sitting at #4 then all hell breaks loose. Crash SLAMOnline website!

  • http://thetroyblog.com Teddy-the-Bear

    On the subject of Bird’s teammates, Kevin McHale is the man. Obviously top 10 power forwards ever… Top 5, perhaps?

  • http://slam blinda

    This is a good debate. But if you don’t remember, Rose was playing with a grade 2 ankle sprain since the beginning of the series with Indiana which meant he could have been out for a month. Reguardless of the Bulls record, the rest of the Bull’s team was not consistent. Offensively every teams goal was to stop 1 player and only Miami was able to do it after 6 months of the season. Don’t forget Rose had 44 points with 6 minutes remaining against the hawks with a bad ankle sprain which meant he could have gone for 60. And Rose is not a bad defender, he got much better as the season went on. Think about it, he’s the most athletic point in NBA History. Maybe Durnant is better but I would take Rose who is 7 years younger then Wade.

  • Maniac

    @omphalos – OK now I see what you’re saying, but Bron was the better player in the playoffs. Now that you explained it more, I agree with your claims somewhat. I probably wouldn’t put Durant over Wade either yet personally, but I can see why you and others do. At this moment I’m thinking Wade>Durant>Rose, but I oscillate and can tolerate Rose at the top or Durant at the top of the 3. Those 3 are really close at this point. I give Wade the slight edge because of experience, but yeah. SLAM did no wrong by putting Wade last. It’s near preference at this point.

  • Maniac

    @Teddy-the-Bear – Yeah McHale was the man. Easily top 10. Top 7 actually. Top 5 is debatable. Top 7 is Duncan at #1 and Dirk, Malone, Pettit, Barkley, Garnett, & McHale follow in some kind of order that is highly debatable.

  • http://itsahardwoodlife.blogspot.com omphalos

    @Maniac; I really think Lebron was only the better player in the Chicago series, he certainly wasn’t in the Finals, those 4th quarter collapses put him well and truly below Wade in my opinion. Not on talent, but on performance, he just doesn’t deliver when it counts.

  • Maniac

    @JEr – Yeah I called Wade at #5 yesterday and I’m calling Rose at #4 today. I was going to say exactly what you said about Kobe earlier, but I’ve done enough of defending him. SLAM will explode when they reveal him at #2… breaking comment records and everything lol.

  • Maniac

    @omphalos – I agree on the finals that Wade was better, definitely. LeBron was better in every other series though (neither was super outstanding in the Philly series).

  • http://www.bulls.com Enigmatic

    FOR THOSE OF YOU INTERESTED IN THAT NBA 2K12 ONLINE LEAGUE FOR PS3 –

    I just created a private league.
    Name is SLAM Commenters
    password is slamily.

  • http://thetroyblog.com Teddy-the-Bear

    1. Duncan
    2. Malone
    3. Barkley
    4. McHale
    5. Garnett
    ?

  • Maniac

    Good looking Matic

  • Maniac

    @Teddy-the-Bear – That’s reasonable, but don’t sleep on Pettit. Dirk is still active, but he’s in that top 7 somewhere. I’m not sure where to rank him yet.

  • slamfan4life

    ROSEEEEE hell yuahhhh

    real talk, Rose+Bron+Bosh=Title

    Wade dw youre still dope

    Bron-Rose-Durant-Kobe

    thats what I see slam dishin out

  • http://Slamonline.com nbk

    Kobe will be #3 of this I am 100% certain. And we are not going to approach a comment record, maybe we’ll get halfway there, maybe.

  • http://www.triplejunearthed.com/dacre Dacre

    ^ McHale top 5? No sir he would be in that 7th-9th position…

  • http://Slamonline.com nbk

    99% my bad.

  • Maniac

    @Dacre – 9th??????? How?

  • http://sdfklf.com Jukai

    Obligatory list: Duncan, Malone, Garnett, Barkley, McHale, Nowitzki, Hayes, Pettit, McAdoo, Debusschere, Rodman, Webber, Lucas, Buck Williams, Schayes, Chambers, Kemp, Gasol, Nance, and… Connie Hawkins, I guess (given that Amare and Bosh probably haven’t done enough to crack the list yet).
    Obviously, the farther down you go, the more interchangeable they get because the less thought I put into them.

  • Maniac

    @nbk – we’ll see…

  • Maniac

    Enigmatc the ID should be numbers instead of letters right?

  • http://sdfklf.com Jukai

    McHale’s ranking really depends on how you look at him. Whether he was a true second banana who was carried by Bird to three championships, or was a true superstar who choose to take the role of whatever the coach put him in for the good of the team. I’m of the thought process of the former.
    After all, a person who put up 26/10/2.6 with over two blocks a game on 60% shooting with pretty damn good post defense… will most likely be turning a few heads if he’s not in your top-10.

  • http://cnbc.com JTaylor21

    I actually think McHale had all the skills needed to be a go-to guy on a championship squad (stellar post-game that commands double-teams, good mid-range shooter, uber-efficient, decent passer from the post, great FT shooter, and elite defender) The only problems was a lack of drive and durability issues.

  • Maniac

    @Enigmatic – Yo man they’re asking for the league’s ID instead of the password. What is it?

  • TMay

    I can not believe D-Wade is number 5. Wade is a better on the ball defender than anybody who will be in the top 5. He is a better playmaker than most of the people that will be in this top 5. He can score from anywhere on the floor and he is the only elite scorer who could make sure bosh and James still get theres. Do you think LeBron would have played this good with kobe? NO WAY!!! SLAM this ranking is for D-Wade can not be justified by any means. You guys should be ashamed of yourself.

  • Maniac

    Hypothetical debate. Who would win this pick-up 5 on 5? Team A: CP3, Wade, Bron, Bosh, Dwight vs. Team B: Rose, Kobe, Durant, Melo, Stat …. Team A is miles ahead on defense, but would they be able to stop Team B from scoring? That’s tough.

  • http://slamonline.com datkid

    I personally wouldn’t take durant over wade… not yet at least. but that’s me. durant’s scoring is nice, but wade is too good a playmaker and defender too pass up… but that’s me.

  • flash

    dwyane wade’s belief is stronger than all of your doubts! he’s got LBJ on his team. what makes you think he just gonna let up and be less productive the next few years? he won’t because he cant let people see that he’s being overshadowed by the other guy, he must be on par not below. why’d u think he put on a show in the finals? he wanted the world to see, when all the world is watching coz it’s the only NBA games left to watch. he made people remember who the F*** is Dwyane wade again when everybody’s talking about james, rose, griffin…etc. dwade is prideful SOB and is also insecure, but that is what makes him better!
    and for the injuries, oh he knows that better than u do so don’t think he aint doin sh** about it.

  • http://www.bulls.com Enigmatic

    Maniac- um, they never asked me to put in an id. just a password. unless they’re the same thing.
    Try the password for the id.

  • Maniac

    Enigmatic – They only allow numbers to be inputed for the ID. Idk maybe they have some random ID laying around somewhere

  • Conor O.

    Bryant and Wade measured nearly exact averages last year, only the former played six less minutes per game and was a cripple. You guys are honestly imbeciles if you think that the order between of the two guards is not justified.

  • Maniac

    Matic – I’m looking at the public leagues and they have like 8#### type of numbers with five digits. That may be it.

  • http://www.bulls.com Enigmatic

    airs was able to get in with no problem.
    hmmm…send me a friend request or whatever.
    PSN is enigmatic4_17
    Like I said before, I usually dont do online gaming so maybe it’s me doing something stupid.

  • Maniac

    Just did

  • http://Slamonline.com nbk

    Didnt you say the ID was SLAM Commenters?

  • Maniac

    @nbk – Nah the name is SLAM Commenters. Ignore the ID and just go in. Had to figure that out

  • http://Slamonline.com nbk

    Oh word – just makin sure

  • Maniac

    password is slamily

  • http://www.bulls.com Enigmatic

    Apparently I’m the commissioner of the league.
    Hmmm… My Bulls on a 10 game losing streak?
    Lockout, fools!!
    Lol nah I jizokes

  • Maniac

    Lmao Matic. Speaking of the lockout, this two more weeks gone was expected. We can forget Christmas too.

  • http://Slamonline.com Caboose

    As usual, I’d like to submit my wrap up points for the day:
    -Still can’t decide which is worse, this ranking or Dwight’s.
    -Rose was the Bulls’ offense but he did not carry the team the way LBJ did from 2007-2010.
    -Great write-up.
    -Though it is debatable as to who is the better player between Kobe and Wade (I’ll take Bean), Wade will have a more “productive” next season.
    -Kobe’s defense is overrated. Granted, he’s not Hedo status, but he’s not better than Tony Allen. Still a solid defender, even if he doesn’t always check the best player.
    -That 2k league will be dope. Have fun y’all.
    -There are a select few who will concede points. Nbk does about non-star players, LakeShow does about anything non Kobe/Bron/Wade, Enig about intricate player details, JT about anything non Bron/Heat/Kobe/Lakers and EBoy about star players not on the Heat.
    -Though I dreaded it from the start, I now hope Rose is ranked #2.

  • http://www.bulls.com Enigmatic

    Caboose, you’re not joining the league?

  • http://sdfklf.com Jukai

    JTaylor: LOL… McHale had Kobe syndrome… he was a decent passer from the post… but he never passed. His teammates would mock him, they’d call him the black hole.

  • http://Slamonline.com Caboose

    I was a PS3 guy before I left for college, but my little bro got to keep the gaming system haha. My roomie let’s me play his 360. Would have loved to join though.

  • clayton

    wowwwww haters. you guys have officially lost all credibility. no way in hell d rose kobe or durant is better than d wade.

  • http://sdfklf.com Jukai

    Youtube don’t got the video, but from basketbawful:
    “Black Hole”
    Word History: Kevin McHale was a low post genius, not to mention one of the best percentage shooters in NBA history. His career field goal percentage of 55.4 ranks as the 9th best of all time, and during the 1986-87 season he became the only player to ever shoot better than 60 percent from the field and 80 percent from the line (60.4 FGPct and 83.6 FTPct, respectively). What makes these accomplishments even more amazing is the fact that McHale often encountered aggressive, trapping defenses specifically designed to limit his touches. However, McHale only averaged 1.7 assists per game over his 13-year career, and his Celtics teammates sometimes wondered why McHale rarely passed out of the double and triple-teams he regularly faced. Danny Ainge finally began calling him “The Black Hole,” referring to those regions of space that have a gravitational field so intense even light cannot escape. As Ainge once said, “When the ball goes in [to McHale], it doesn’t come back out.”

  • http://sdfklf.com Jukai

    Quote from Kevin McHale:
    “If there are three guys on me, shoot. If there are four guys on me, pass.”

  • http://www.triplejunearthed.com/dacre Dacre

    I have no problem believing that 4 other players could have effectively better seasons than Wade: After all, Rose taking it to the next level, Kobe showing he is still the alpha mamba in the West, Durant or LeBron adding that postup prowess to their games… Dwight averaging 20ppg…. there are a lot of things you could expect from guys this coming season that makes it REALISTIC that Wade is ‘only’ the 5th best player in the L next season…when ever thats going to be.

  • http://cnbc.com JTaylor21

    Jukai, HA! maybe “good” passer was a mile-long stretch but what do you think about the rest of my statement? Do you think McHale had the skills to be a go-to guy on a championship squad?
    Enigmatic, I would love to check in but I’m working the graveyard shift. Might hop on tomorrow after I’m done playing a fake solider on battlefield 3.

← Older Comments
Newer Comments →
Advertisement