[Dornado]

Originally Posted by aznzen

no offense here


but

wade=1
lebron=0

right?

...but if that were the only determining factor there'd be no reason to pose the original question, right?

Like it or not, despite his ring, Wade is still considered by most to be a notch below Lebron... I'm not saying that it is fair... it might have to do with Shaq's presence on that championship squad..but I think its how people see things.

If Wade won another ring I think it would obviously change how people view him.... similarly the longer Lebron goes without winning one, the more his stock would drop.

[Vivaldi]

Originally Posted by Deke

he is a pg playing sg. if jason williams leaves he will probably play pg next season.

If he does he'll have to do it out of necessity, but he's more of a natural scorer than a distributor. He can pass, but his TOs would be off-the-chart if he had to play the point for a full season. Besides, we'll probably look at a PG acquisition during the offseason or maybe draft Rose.

A lot of people rushed to put Wade over Lebron and Kobe as soon as he won that title, but look what happened right afterward.

He got injured?

The Mavs already showed what they're made of the past two post seasons. They're not true contenders.

This were the same Mavs who actually BEAT the spurs in a 7 game series right?

Also, Lebron took a lesser team to the finals, and although they were swept they lost to a far more superior team. But watch how people will use that as a strike against Lebron years from now, how he's not undefeated in the finals like another number 23 was.

People can easily make the argument that the Cavs had an easy way to the finals, as the only though team they had to face was Detroit, and they match up preety good against them. They could not even win a single game against the Spurs.

[Deke]

Originally Posted by Tragedy

That's all it would take to pass Lebron? 27, 7.5 and 4?

Lebron's numbers are still better, and he took a team with lesser talent to the finals. He didn't win, but if the Heat played the Spurs they would have gotten beat also.

Wade winning a title is good, but it came so early, and considering the team they beat and the manner in which, a lot of people may disregard that.

A lot of people rushed to put Wade over Lebron and Kobe as soon as he won that title, but look what happened right afterward.

Why Dwyane Wade could be automatically considered the best SG when someone like Tony Parker wins a title and finals MVP and is not considered the best automatically is baffling.

The Mavs already showed what they're made of the past two post seasons. They're not true contenders.

Also, Lebron took a lesser team to the finals, and although they were swept they lost to a far more superior team. But watch how people will use that as a strike against Lebron years from now, how he's not undefeated in the finals like another number 23 was.

Kobe took a lesser team to the playoffs two straight seasons. I cannot buy into the injury excuse for Wade, not when we have guys like Iverson and Kobe, the former playing consistently injured, the latter playing with an injury on his shooting hand that will require surgery. The Heat team this year should have been better than the Lakers team of two years ago, funny how Wade couldn't make smush parker better, like Kobe did.

It's gonna take at least two seasons.

After two seasons of playing no more than 51 games, he has to show the season after next that playing a full season next season will not be a fluke.

i disagree they lost to a far more superior team. the 05 mavs were money. they had alot of depth and youth. devis harris was a beast.
and they DEFEATED your spurs...

what they did afterward was lose key player after key player and just add a bunch of old players like juwan howard,eddie jones,jason kidd,etc.

but the 2005 mavs were a VERY good team.

should the 98 jazz feel bad they lost to the 98 bulls who went on to be the worst team in the nba for years?

[Brandname]

In addition to the things already mentioned in this thread, he would have to take a leap defensively as well. Both Kobe and Lebron took huge steps defensively this year (Kobe because he doesn't have to work as hard on offense and Lebron because he focused on improving it all year), and he's going to need to focus on more than just help defense to be able to compare favorably to them in that area.

Health is the primary issue of course. And he can't be on one of the worst teams in the league, because fair or not it will affect perception. He does have a ring, which is definitely something he has going for himself, but I don't think that alone in most people's minds will put him on their level. I am very excited to see how he comes out next year if he's fully healthy. He's a fun player to watch.

[aznzen]

Originally Posted by Dornado

...but if that were the only determining factor there'd be no reason to pose the original question, right?.

wrong.


the ring obviously is not a determing factor because if that is the case then ranking should always be

1.kobe
2.wade
3.lebron

there are other cases to be made like offensive performance or defensive improvement like brandname said.

[KDOS]

Wade needs to be healthy and lead his team into the playoffs and he should be up there once again with Kobe and Lebron.

[TheATLien]

A miracle. He's just not on their level, IMO. At least he has his ring.

[BengalDuck]

Originally Posted by DaRizzle

Lebron and Kobe would have to sit out the year...seriously, thats the only way

He's right you know.

[southeasy]

Wade would A) have to win 3 championships in 1 offseason

or B) avg a triple-double next season on a 50+ win team.

[Drewbs]

I don't think hes going to surpass either Kobe or Lebron. Next year, there is no chance, and I doubt he will ever be considered on their level for his career.

Kobe will be Kobe until he retires, in 5 years, I could still see Kobe being a 25-28ppg/5rpg/5apg guy like Jordan was late in his career because he is very good at adjusting his game. He has been relying less and less on his athleticism for the past few seasons. At that point, Wade may be a better player than him, but Kobe's career will have solidified itself by then. He will most likely have won more championships with the Lakers who should be perennial contenders.

In the next 5 years, Lebron is either going to 1) put up the sickest stats in the league on a mediocre team or 2) put up very good numbers on a good team. As soon as the Cavs become consistently good, the MVP will have his name written all over it. Even now, Wade is not as good as either of them and imo, will always be a step below for his career.