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.

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  • http://cnbc.com JTaylor21

    82gm is fine and I’m also leaning towards playing on superstar. Also, everyone has to play like they do in a real NBA game, none that living on the perimeter and launching 3 after 3, sh*t is corny.

  • Truth

    The Bulls offense was to #11 I wouldn’t call that unsuccessful but hey that’s just me. And offensively he is the only one that makes things go. It’s a fact no player accounted for more of there teams offense than Rose. On 42.2% of Chicago’s scoring plays Derrick Rose either does the scoring himself or gets the assist. That’s an absurd number.

  • http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/wizards/a-quick-guide-to-the-issues-of-the-nba-lockout/2011/10/11/gIQAon1ZbL_story.html unf*ckwitable

    Whaaaat the f*ck is this.

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    I’ve actually seen JT concede on a few arguments. And Lakeshow isn’t that bad about Kobe once he separates his emotions from the conversation. Like his all-time rank of Kobe during our last conversation was perfectly reasonable.

  • http://www.bulls.com Enigmatic

    Like I’ve said before, I’m a Bulls fan first and foremost.
    Yeah, I’m a big Rose fan but I take offense when people say he’s the only reason they got to 62 W’s.
    Anyways, ok 82 games, superstar.
    What I really wanna know though is how are JTaylor and AllenP gonna fight it out to see who gets the Heat.

  • reeld

    THIS LIST JUST LOST ALL CREDIBILIY.
    THIS LIST JUST LOST ALL ITS SENSE.
    IT WAS ALL GOOD UNTIL NOW.
    N I THOUGHT ESPNs LIST WAS CRAZY.
    DWADE IS ARGUABLE THE BEST PLAYER.

  • Truth

    “No other pg in the league could have carried the bulls the way he did last year, period”
    “enig stop the nonsense. i watched nealy every bulls game last year. it was d.rose and MORE d.rose. deng had a good year. no other player on that team can say they had a good year”
    And me saying Rose wasn’t a major factor in their defense, which was a MAJOR factor in their overall success, is a flawed argument?
    Wow, pot, meet kettle…

    Those are pretty close to true statements. Noah was playing at a high level pre injury, Boozer played at a high level for a month. Deng was great this year. He put together a solid season and played all 82 games. And in terms of synergy stats D.Rose was the #1 PG defender in the league. I could post those if you’d like. D.Rose was a big part of the Bulls defense as well.

  • http://www.bulls.com Enigmatic

    Truth, you’re arguing for the sake of arguing.
    I agree with pretty much everything you say.
    I’ve explained why I feel the way I do, but you just keep going back to how important Rose is to the Bulls’ offense.

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    Bub75 is the gamer tag on PS3 for me.

  • http://www.bulls.com Enigmatic

    I’m sorry Truth, please forgive my ignorance, but…what the f*ck is a synergy stat?
    Also, the Bulls were able to get by without Boozer and Noah because of the excellent play of Rose…AND????
    Their depth!
    And their defense!
    And their coaching!
    Rose is a BEAST, but it’s ok to give his teammates some props as well, it doesn’t make him any less of a beast of any less important to the Bulls.

  • http://www.bulls.com Enigmatic

    *or any less important

  • Sws

    I’m sorry but dwight is not a top 5 player. He is the best center in a league where soft brook lopez is the his closest comp. Athleticaly howard is a freak of nature. And his shot blocking and rebounding is incredible but in aleague where scoring is the key to winning, he doesn’t have it. I see him improving his post game but until he can get a consistant 12 footer I don’t think he can be top 5 (feel the same about blake)

  • http://www.slamonline.com Slick Ric

    @NBK, shut up punk, you talk too much non-sense. Anyway @enigmatic, As truth stated, Rose did account for more of his teams points than any other player whether scoring or assisting. you say rose wasnt that big of a deal on the defense but to me, no Bulls player was, it was a collective effort and thibs system, thats why the bulls were able to maintain good defense depsite the shuffling of the the line-ups due to injuries.

  • http://www.bulls.com Enigmatic

    Fair enough, Slick Ric.
    So regarding your point about the defense, wouldn’t that mean that Rose is not the only important member of the Bulls and that he didn’t “carry” the Bulls last year? (besides offensively much of the time).

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    “Synergy Stat” would just be a statistic you get off of synergy sports (that site tracks every single little thing that happens on a basketball court, to the point where stats like, how many times you deflect a pass in the first quarter is just part of the show). Which is dope and I wish I had an account for. My head would explode with that access. (the head on my shoulders)

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    I see your ego has healed up nicely Ric…

  • Truth

    Synergy is an advanced statistical scouting tool. It gives thorough break downs of all players in almost any situation you could imagine. For example it gives a pps (points per shot) breakdown of every scenario from Isolations, pick and roll on the ball handler, pick and roll guarding the roll man, guarding the spot up. And pretty much the same thing on offense it’s pretty neat, and Rose ranks way up there in those defensive metrics.
    And sorry enigmatic, I get tired of seeing people say Rose didn’t deserve MVP because of how great the Bulls defense or rebounding was. The guy made the big play more times than not when the Bulls needed it and led them to 62 regular season wins. They went 6-1 against the Heat, Lakers and Mavs I just don’t understand why people were so opposed to his MVP. I see a boost coming in his stats as he was able to up his FTA’s in the middle of the season and with a modest upgrade at the two I can see D.Rose at 26 and 9 on 47% from the field.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Slick Ric

    I suppose, but most times when a person says a player carried a team, they mean offensively more so than defensively.

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    Who said Rose didn’t deserve the MVP?

  • Sean B

    Only one guy should have been ahead of D-wade… his teammate LeBron James. And even that’s debatable. Did you see this guy in the Finals last year?

  • Truth

    Did you see Wade in the ECF last year?

  • http://cnbc.com JTaylor21

    Don’t trip. Somebody else can have the Heat, I got a trump card in my back pocket. JTaylor2123 is my PSN tag.

  • http://slamonline.com AllBall

    nbk, I’ll play you on 360. Probably blow you out too.

  • http://slamonline.com Ben Osborne

    Tomorrow’s gonna be fun, too.

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    send me an invite. It’s nice that you have confidence. I am not putting probably’s on anything, just my undefeated-ness

  • http://www.bulls.com Enigmatic

    Truth – Oh, I’d never say Rose didn’t deserve MVP.
    I’m a defender of Rose deserving it, just ask the likes of MUBWAR (not calling you out, MUBWAR, just you’re the cat I usually argue that with).
    You can ask people like nbk or Allen, I’m always defending Rose for MVP and actually believe he deserved Most Improved as well.
    I just think too many people go overboard in saying he did EVERYTHING for the Bulls.

  • http://www.bulls.com Enigmatic

    I’m not even gonna sh*t talk regarding 2k12 cause I know I’ma get stomped, but I’m just tired of either playing the CPU or my 6 year old daughter all the time. lol

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    I didn’t have Rose as my MVP, but I don’t disagree with people who put him there last season. But i wholeheartedly felt Rose should have got MIP, cosign Matic

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    I like that people say things like “Probably Blow You Out Too” – you don’t know what your getting yourself into, just like I don’t. If history is any indication you’ll probably run with the Lakers, Bulls, Thunder, or Heat. You will try and get in the paint the whole game like its 2k12 and end up very very frustrated. But I hope not, I hope your actually really good AllBall, instead of just blowing smoke out your ass

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    2k11*

  • http://www.bulls.com Enigmatic

    BTW, hope y’all know I don’t even play online but I’ma do this just for y’all.
    I saw they had the online league and thought this would be perfect for the SLAM heads.

  • Travis

    Hell naw wade should be top 3!

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    Damn. I won’t talk trash because I’ve almost never played against a real person in either game. Just the CPU most of the time. I’m still getting used to the controls and stuff. I finally opened the game up this weekend and started playing.
    I’m really enjoying the greatest teams joint though, particularly the ones involving Magic. Gave it to the Celtics last night on Hall of Fame to unlike in both the Magic and Kareem Challenge. I almost don’t want to play with the regular squads.

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    unlock.

  • Truth

    @Enigmatic I mean I won’t go as far as to say he did have to either score or assist almost every bucket the Bulls got last year. He carried a ridiculous load offensively which mostly stemmed from the lack of handlers on the wings. If you look across the league I don’t think that any other team has such inept ball handlers playing the two or the three. And when Bogans is out there he just flat out gets ignored it’s kind of sad that he only shot 38% a guy like Morrow getting the looks Bogans got might have shot 55%.

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    ^ That is probably true about Morrow. But Bogans wasn’t left alone like he was a pariah or Shawn Marion. Teams waited for the action and trapped. Typically leaving Bogans last on the priority list. It’s not like when Eric Snow was playing next to Iverson or anything like that.

  • http://www.bulls.com Enigmatic

    Yeah, that was one of the bigger mysteries of last summer to me was why the Bulls were throwing money at Bogans and Redick (before the Magic matched) and didn’t even try to get Morrow.
    And Watson is a good backup in terms of scoring but he’s never been a playmaker.
    I think the Bulls should look to get more of a playmaking PG to back up Rose.
    Though I do like Watson.

  • http://slamonline.com datkid

    i turned off my computer when i read that kobe is the anchor nonsense from maniac… remind me why we pay attention to him again?

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    because he knows the game outside of his quest for Kobe Bryant to not be “overlooked” or whatever he wanted to call it. It’s clear he will come around if he really tries, that’s at least why i have been entertaining him.

  • http://slamonline.com datkid

    whatever… I’m glad you guys explained to the writers why this ranking is idiotic.. also ebony’s back.. weird. anyway i thought rose should’ve gotten the mvp too… but i would’ve understood if people felt dwight howard should’ve been mvp

  • http://www.bulls.com Enigmatic

    nbk sees nbk circa 2008 in Maniac.
    LOL “follow me, young Padawan”…

  • http://www.bulls.com Enigmatic

    datkid, did you mean to type “ebony” or was that a typo?
    Either way, made me laught.
    Not sure why, though.

  • http://slamonline.com datkid

    @nbk I see … I actually agreed with a lot of his points about dirk being overrated after the finals and SOME of his points about the all time list but homie was trippin hard for a while.

  • http://slamonline.com Tae

    Thats how u get better Enig. I dont play online either. I play tha computer and practice running tha triangle and that other stuff Mike Brown brought to LA

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    F*ck you Datkid, I just spit soda on my keyboard from that Ebony typo

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    and Tracy McFady? lol that’s kind of dope

  • http://www.bulls.com Enigmatic

    Woulda been ever better if it was a double typo and he typed “and ebony’s black…weird.
    LOL
    @Tae – I suppose you’re right. I just remember trying a COD game online and getting destroyed by like, 11 year old asian kids. LOL, and me being a military vet I probably felt the same way basketball players feel when they get worked on these NBA games, lol
    I was like “Never playing online again!!”

  • http://slamonline.com datkid

    lmao enig that was a typo… glad i could make you laugh tho

  • http://cnbc.com JTaylor21

    “other stuff” Mike Brown brought to LA? Mr. Potato Head box set, a gallon of rogaine and lip gloss (lots of kobe a** kissing to be done this season).

  • http://slamonline.com datkid

    yoooo nbk! you found my twitter?

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