In the historical pantheon of elite NBA shooting guards, three-time champion and 13-time All-Star Dwyane Wade is generally considered in the top tier — somewhere just beneath Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.
Based on a new interview, it sounds as if Wade is ready to welcome Houston Rockets superstar James Harden into that legendary tier of certain Hall of Famers and all-time greats.
In an episode of the “All The Smoke” podcast released Thursday, Wade was asked what three players he thinks will carry the league into its next generation once the run of Wade’s former teammate LeBron James — who turns 35 years old later this month — comes to a close.
In response to that query by former NBA player Matt Barnes, Wade named Harden, Brooklyn’s Kevin Durant, and Golden State’s Steph Curry.
Regarding Harden, Wade said:
You think about what James Harden has become, it’s undeniable. It’s undeniable that he’s one of the greatest to ever touch the basketball.
From a scoring standpoint, he makes it look easy. … He’s able to score this basketball in ways that we’ve just never seen. That’s why he’s getting hate, because we’ve never seen it like this before. He’s got to take that Allen Iverson hate, because he was one of the first ones to do it the way he’s doing it.
Keep going, bro, do it your way.
D-Wade says James Harden is “one of the greatest to ever touch the basketball”
(🎥 @SHOsports ) pic.twitter.com/bAzV4OkXYm
— NBA Central (@TheNBACentral) December 19, 2019
It’s not the first time that Wade has gone out of his way to compliment Harden. In November 2019, Wade — who retired last spring after 16 NBA seasons, most with the Miami Heat — said on Twitter that he wanted to see Harden average 40 points per game for the season.
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Harden currently leads the NBA with an average of 38.9 points per game, which over a full season would be the highest of any player in the last 56 years. The 2018 MVP also averages 7.4 assists and 6.0 rebounds.
The complete podcast with Wade, Barnes, and former NBA forward Stephen Jackson can be listened to below. The conversation regarding Harden, Durant, and Curry occurs in the final five minutes.
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