Dwyane Wade is better than LeBron James

Introduction Thanks ASB for the responding arguments and I’ll will reply with my own arguments and wrap up my rebuttal. Statistical Categories To being, my opponent agrees that there is no way to determine if X amount of one statistical category equals an X amount of another statistical category. However, now he argues that LeBron’s points and rebounds carry more value than Wade’s steals and blocks. My opponent must not be aware that Wade’s only 0.01 points less than LeBron and 0.04 less than LeBron in rebounds. Wade’s better than LeBron in steals and blocks both by 0.01. They are identical when it comes to assists. The fact is that that are so close to being the same statistically that my argument still stands that they are virtually the same when it comes to statistical output. Also, Wade get’s 0.04 offensive rebounds per minute while LeBron only gets 0.03 offensive rebounds per minute. That means LeBron’s rebound value comes solely from his defensive rebounds. I think my opponent can agree with me that it is not only harder to get offensive rebounds, but in most cases can be more important. Versatility The point is that if Wade had the size, he could get down low and provide the footwork to produce effectively at the 4 position. He can already get down low despite disadvantage in size, he just can play there for a considerable amount of time because sooner or later, the size disadvantage would become a problem. Also, as I’ve already stated, LeBron shot 7 for 24 from the field when he played at power forward against the New York Knicks. His footwork was terrible and his shots were flat. He wasn’t playing with high basketball IQ. Now, unless this is effective basketball play, than yes, my opponent is right in saying that LeBron can effectively play this position. However, I don’t believe this is effective play at all. Additionally I know my opponent will try to say that this was only one game and he played other good games when he was playing power forward. However, in those games, Wade wasn’t playing so he was doing more ball handling and passing versus getting down low and doing post moves. Next, I do not know where my opponent obtains his facts from, but Wade is the second best rebounding guard in the league this year. So my opponent is wrong in saying Wade does not get enough rebounds. MVP My opponent must also understand that MVP awards are not always judged correctly. There is no formula really for the MVP award. Some say it is the person that provides the most value to the team, so wouldn’t that mean the person that produces the most with the smallest salary? Or it could be your definition, the best player on the best team. It could also be the person that individually allows a team to become so much better. To further prove my point that the MVP award can be wrong, just look at the 2008-2009 season. Wade had more points, more steals, more blocks, and more assists than LeBron. He only played 0.9 minutes more. He also brang the worst team in the league the previous season (only 15 wins), to fifth seed. That’s a huge jump. So why didn’t Wade receive the MVP trophy? Simply because LeBron was blessed with a better supporting cast so his team was able to gain more wins? So does that make him valuable? Wade did better than LeBron in FOUR of the FIVE statistical categories. The sole reason Wade and the Heat didn’t get a better record was because Wade’s cast was much worse than LeBron’s. So wouldn’t that mean Wade truly deserved the MVP? Wouldn’t that make Wade and LeBron equal when it comes to MVP trophies? Wouldn’t that completely kill your argument? Championship I don’t think you can talk for the readers, and besides, I believe the readers would care anyway. Championship is what everyone in the NBA wants. It’s the ultimate goal. They don’t need a whole bunch of points, individual accolades, or praise. They want rings. Wade has accomplished the ultimate goal while LeBron has not. My opponent says that MVP trophies are a true mark of greatness. I believe Championship Rings are the ultimate mark of greatness. My opponent consistently tries to make the supporting cast argument. My opponent does not realize that LeBron got to the Finals. Why couldn’t he finish his playoff run? Answer: He choked. It’s that simple. If he could carry his team all that way, why couldn’t he do the same in the Finals? Wade, despite being down 0-2 in the Finals, despite being 0-2 against the Dallas Mavericks in the regular season (By the way, my opponent did not refute this), still rallied back and beat the Mavs. The Heat were at a disadvantage in every way. My opponent consistently urges that LeBron’s downfall in the Finals was due to bad help from his supporting cast. Well Wade was at a disadvantage in the Finals too. Guess what the difference was however: Wade did something, LeBron didn’t. Wade rallied back and completely carried his team to a championship, LeBron watched as his team fell. That’s where you draw the fine line between Wade and LeBron. Minutes I’m surprised my opponent wants to reveal the fact that LeBron plays more minutes, that only proves that Wade is a more efficient player and is able to produce at the same level (statistically) than LeBron despite playing fewer minutes. Additionally, I stated how matching players up has more to do if their stats are the same on a 36 minute production scale. You need to take into account games played and how consistent they were across these games as well as other factors such as how well they lead a team, playmaking, defense, and more. The fact that LeBron plays more minutes is definitely not due to priority, I’m unable to understand where my opponent obtained this information. The most reasonable and logical reason why Wade gets less minutes is due to being more injury prone. Also, just to let my opponent and the readers know, being injury prone DOES NOT measure the greatness of a player, that is common mistake made. Next, stats to change, again Wade beat LeBron when it came to points against the Thunder on Sunday. Comparing Players My opponent misunderstood my logic. A player that averages 24 points over 81 games is a much more reliable source than 24 points over 1 game. Wade and LeBron have played nearly the same amount of games this year (about 1 or 2 game difference). Next, Wade is capable of making plenty of assists (08-09 season), getting plenty of rebounds (this season), and every other major statistical category. He has been shown to use great footwork down low, crack down on defense, and score at will. Additionally, Wade has shown to be a clutch player down the stretch, unlike LeBron (championship). Conclusion My opponent had many flaws in their case; he attempted to try to sneak by refuting points by throwing out illogical misjudgments and assumptions. I’ve properly refuted my opponent’s points and in the end, this is what has been finalized. - Wade and LeBron both had disadvantages in the Finals. The difference though? Wade did everything he could literally carried his team to championship. You could say LeBron tried, but he utterly failed. - Wade is versatile. Just because his size doesn’t allow him to play certain positions does not mean he doesn’t have the skill set to produce effectively in those areas. LeBron on the other hand has the size and strong body to produce well in those areas, yet still fails many times (7 for 24 against New York Knicks while playing Power Forward). Essentially, Wade is more skilled. - Current stats are unreliable due to how each of them plays better than the other on different nights. Usually, however, bad play from Wade is equipped with injury he tries to play through.