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"D-Wade was a dog" - Why J.R. Smith would take a prime Dwyane Wade over James Harden
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- "D-Wade was a dog" - Why J.R. Smith would take a prime Dwyane Wade over James Harden
Hoop fans were blessed to witness a plethora of prolific shooting guards showcase their incredible skills during the 2010s. From the late, great Kobe Bryant to Klay Thompson to DeMar DeRozan and Joe Johnson , these two-guards exhibited a knack for raining buckets on their defenders in every imaginable way possible.
However, the cream of the crop were undoubtedly Dwyane Wade and James Harden . Wade, a 6'4" two-way terror, won two straight titles in that era while Harden , a 6'5" crafty lefty who could score in his sleep, led the league in scoring three times, averaging more than 30 points a game.
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One player who saw both players dominate the NBA during that time was J.R. Smith . And when asked to pick which player was the best during that era, Swish had a definitive answer: D-Wade.
There was no quit in D-Wade
One ad a sneaker company made for Wade characterized him as a player who always got right back up after falling. It couldn't have been more apt, as the former Marquette standout simply had no quit in him. Much like Allen Iverson before him, Flash darted to the shaded lane with reckless abandon and was often met with forearm shivers or even worse.
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But Wade never backed down, constantly driving to the basket and drawing fouls. He was a master at creating contact and finishing through it. This fearlessness and determination made Dwyane one of the most exciting players to watch during that era.
Smith saw Wade take this approach and use it to win a title in 2006, and then again in 2012 and 2013 — something he says is the determining factor in choosing the Heat legend over Harden.
"I'm taking Dwyane Wade because of championships," Smith, a former Sixth Man of the Year winner, stated . "I never seen that man quit. Put him in any situation, I never seen it."
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"D-Wade was a dog. I never seen it. I never seen him pull up, and he ain't show up," he continued.
Wade's relentless approach was never more evident than during the 2006 NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks . With the Heat's backs against the wall, down 2-0 in the series, Dwyane put up one memorable performance after another. He averaged 39.3 points on 50.5 percent shooting, 8.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.5 steals in Games 3 to 6 to lead the Heat to their first-ever championship.
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Third-best shooting guard of all time?
When discussing the greatest shooting guards of all time, the top two are seemingly set in stone: Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. And if you ask J.R. who the third spot belongs to, he wouldn't hesitate to name Wade.
"People would argue he was the best shooting guard (of that era). I know Kobe was still in the league — third best shooting guard of all time," Smith asserted.
To be fair, former NBA guard Theo Pinson made a compelling case for prime Harden being a much better player than D-Wade.
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"We're not talking about winning. We're not talking about winning. Roll the ball. We're talking about he was averaging 50. He was averaging damn near 50 for a month. A month," Pinson commented.
Harden's hot-shooting month came in January 2019, when he went on a scoring binge and averaged 43.6 points per game across 14 games — the highest monthly average since Wilt Chamberlain. During that period, the Beard scored 61 once, over 50 points twice, and over 40 points five times.
However, it's tough to pick Harden over Wade, especially when winning is on the line. Dwyane almost always stepped up when the stakes were at their highest, while James historically has shown a penchant for coming up small in big moments.
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This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Mar 10, 2026, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
