Dwyane Wade’s “One Last Dance” with the Miami Heat came to a disappointing end when they failed to qualify for the 2019 NBA playoffs, but his career has seemingly vaulted him into the conversation with Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant for the greatest shooting guard of all time.
Admittedly, the shooting guard position isn’t quite the same anymore, but that’s largely due to the absence of Jordan, Bryant, and now Wade. However, as Wade begins to hear more and more people putting him above one of those two players, he recently had to shut that talk down.
Wade can comfortably say he’s one of the greatest players of all time, but he recently still puts Jordan and Bryant ahead of himself, according to Rohan Nadkarni of Sports Illustrated:
“False. False,” Wade insists when asked if it’s true he’s the second-best two-guard ever. “It’s Jordan, then Kobe, then whoever else you want to put. But those are the top two.”
Wade is without a doubt an all-time great with a phenomenal career, but even he recognizes that he’s just not in the same conversation as Jordan and Bryant.
Bryant entered his prime in the 2000s due to the need of a second superstar alongside Shaquille O’Neal. He then stayed in his prime all the way up until his Achilles injury during the 2012-13 NBA season. In that span, Bryant averaged at least 25 points per game for 13 consecutive seasons.
Jordan was in his prime for six seasons and won a championship during that stretch and is still widely considered to be the greatest player of all time.
Wade is easily in the conversation for the third greatest shooting guard of all time, but it will be a continued debate among basketball fans.