Wade's career with the Lakers from 1999-2015?

[mehyaM24]

replacing kobe, how does his career pan out with:

-the MDE
-arguably the greatest coach & franchise in history
-stacked teams
-huge expectations

is he still riddled with injuries? does his jumpshot get better? anything in his game change really?

(began with 1999, because he and kobe would be about the same age in this hypothetical).

[Dragic4Life]

6 rings is a given. That would mean Shaq will have 6 FMVPs.

[mehyaM24]

6 rings is a given. That would mean Shaq will have 6 FMVPs.
6 rings? :eek: what years do you see the lakers winning? :confusedshrug:

imo wade is generally overrated, but i actually believe his health & longevity improve playing next to the most dominant player in history.

[greatest-ever]

6 rings? :eek: what years do you see the lakers winning? :confusedshrug:

imo wade is generally overrated, but i actually believe his health & longevity improve playing next to the most dominant player in history.
Lol at Wade being overrated. He is actually underrated, especially on this board that is full of trolls and 15 year olds.

But to the OP, they would win in 2000, 2001 for sure, after that though it depends on if his health was the same as it actually happened and whether or not Shaq gets traded. 2004 would be the 09 version of Wade so i'd like their chances that year as well, id say they do win, Wade would've played much better than Kobe did against Detroit.

[Prime_Shaq]

They will have that 3 peat again. Lose in 2003. Probably win in 2004. The rest depends if Wade and Shaq will butt heads or not.

[ImKobe]

considering that his prime lasted barely half a decade and he wouldn't be as good before the handchecking was banned, 2 rings.


By the time Gasol arrives, his knees will already be shot.

[Fire Colangelo]

considering that his prime lasted barely half a decade and he wouldn't be as good before the handchecking was banned, 2 rings.


By the time Gasol arrives, his knees will already be shot.

I agree with 2 rings.... but what makes you think Wade wouldn't be as good before hand checking? Kobe and Tmac were great, I don't see why Wade wouldn't be as good.

[ImKobe]

I agree with 2 rings.... but what makes you think Wade wouldn't be as good before hand checking? Kobe and Tmac were great, I don't see why Wade wouldn't be as good.

Kobe and T-Mac had more range.

He would still be great, but he wouldn't do as well against the Pistons in 04 like he did after hand-checking was banned.

[Fire Colangelo]

Kobe and T-Mac had more range.

He would still be great, but he wouldn't do as well against the Pistons in 04 like he did after hand-checking was banned.

They also had more range than Michael Jordan, Clyde Drexler, Scottie Pippen, etc.

[IncarceratedBob]

Honestly Wade is traded after 03, Dr. Buss loved Kobe to death, he would have traded Wade before he traded Shaq

[ButterFace]

Well, Wade would get more with Shaq, but get less after Shaq leaves because a hobbled Wade without Shaq would become worthless.

[f0und]

if wade can win with shaq on the downside of his prime, then he would definitely win with shaq at his absolute prime. so we could be talking about 6 titles.

[ImKobe]

They also had more range than Michael Jordan, Clyde Drexler, Scottie Pippen, etc.

Those guys were better shooters than Wade.

And Jordan was a GOAT-level mid-range shooter, he didn't need the 3pt shot.

Wade's jump shot has been inconsistent for most of his career. At least before 09.

[ISHGoat]

if wade can win with shaq on the downside of his prime, then he would definitely win with shaq at his absolute prime. so we could be talking about 6 titles.

Definately threepeat, with possibly one more in 2004 seeing as wade wouldnt chuck them out of the series.

2008-2010 is harder to say, does he still have knee issues?

Id say 4 rings minimum. Possibly 5 or 6.

As a Lebron stan, even I can admit that Kobe's longevity has been amazing. I doubt wade would be able to perform like Kobe did in '09, '10 with the mileage of a threepeat and 10 seasons already on him. In 2009-2010, if he was starting his career in 1999, it'd be the equivalent of '12-'14 wade, which is objectively not as good as kobe's seasons in '09-'10.

[Im Still Ballin]

I don't get why people try to make these comparisons then subsequently apply injuries and scenarios from what actually happened, to the theoretical comparison of the same player... The point of this comparison is to weigh success based on the swapping of these two players... Nothing more nothing less. Wade in Kobe's position. What occurred during Wade's ACTUAL career has NOTHING to do with this. Stop bringing in irrelevant variables; A healthy Wade replaces a healthy Kobe...

[Im Still Ballin]

It's like saying;

Oh yeah lets switch the careers of D-rob and Duncan

"D-rob would win in 99 and 03 but then he would get injured in 05 because thats what happened in his actual career"

No

That's ****ing stupid and missing the point

[ArbitraryWater]

If 1999 is his rookie season? 2000 sophomore and etc?

1999 = 2R exit
2000 = title
2001 = title (sweep playoffs)
2002 = WCF (Wade was injured in the playoffs, healthy 4th-year Wade is an easy title)
2003 = 2R exit
2004 = title
2005 (with Shaq) = title
2006 = WCF (2R Clippers were a fortunate opponent given the flawed system)
2007 = 1R exit
2008 = WCF
2009 = WCF
2011 = 2R exit
2012 (2015 Wade) = 2R exit

Wade would have more success up until about 2006, any Wade version after his 8th season, less than Kobe.

Damn.. this would mean one less title than Kobe.

[jrong]

Kobe and T-Mac had more range.

He would still be great, but he wouldn't do as well against the Pistons in 04 like he did after hand-checking was banned.

He abused the #1 seed Pacers pretty well as a rookie in 2004 with DPOY Ron Artest not only hand-checking him but body-checking him (see 2:35).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqzzykF3ZKc

As far as the question, Shaq would be in serious contention for the GOAT. Young Wade was humble. They would have stayed together and won more titles.

[mehyaM24]

If 1999 is his rookie season? 2000 sophomore and etc?

1999 = rookie wade. just about the same age kobe was..

Definately threepeat, with possibly one more in 2004 seeing as wade wouldnt chuck them out of the series.

2008-2010 is harder to say, does he still have knee issues?

Id say 4 rings minimum. Possibly 5 or 6.

As a Lebron stan, even I can admit that Kobe's longevity has been amazing. I doubt wade would be able to perform like Kobe did in '09, '10 with the mileage of a threepeat and 10 seasons already on him. In 2009-2010, if he was starting his career in 1999, it'd be the equivalent of '12-'14 wade, which is objectively not as good as kobe's seasons in '09-'10.
very true. i will also say that wade's best opportunities would be from 2000-2004. you could definitely see the lakers 4-peating, as crazy as that sounds (not that crazy, considering the heat nearly accomplished it. having shaq in 2004 and wade, which would REALLY be 2009 wade, would be crazy).

wade's laziniess and injuries play a huge part here, they're more or less the intangibles not spoken about..but again, i feel he stays healthier in LA playing next to someone who could carry even dead weight.

[ButterFace]

I don't get why people try to make these comparisons then subsequently apply injuries and scenarios from what actually happened, to the theoretical comparison of the same player... The point of this comparison is to weigh success based on the swapping of these two players... Nothing more nothing less. Wade in Kobe's position. What occurred during Wade's ACTUAL career has NOTHING to do with this. Stop bringing in irrelevant variables; A healthy Wade replaces a healthy Kobe...

It is all hypothetical though, and all we have to draw on is what we do know, and what we know is that Wade's body didn't hold up. Is it possible, that Wade stays healthy longer? Yes. Is it possible that he breaks down sooner, yes? We can't pretend that Wade stays in his prime forever either, because we don't know how long his prime without injuries lasts. Your hypothetical view of the situation is just as fallible as the one that involves him still getting injured.

[34-24 Footwork]

Dwayne Wade would NOT make it past the Kings, Spurs or Blazers. You need a consistent and respected jumpshot playing in The western conference at the 2 spot. Can't go to the rim or shoot 15 foot bank shots all ththe time, especially with Shaq clogging the paint. Younger kids on here completely disregard Kobe's performances from 2000-2002 due do how much of a presence Shaq had. But I encourage everyone to go back and watch those series before thinking Wade and Kobe are an easy swap. Very idiotic.

Tmac is the ONLY swappable person in that scenario that's capable of having that type of success.

[ButterFace]

Tmac is the ONLY swappable person in that scenario that's capable of having that type of success.

What about Reggie Miller? He would fit perfectly with Shaq.

[ImKobe]

What about Reggie Miller? He would fit perfectly with Shaq.

Can't carry the same kind of scoring load that Kobe could, can't play as well on defense and was never the guy that actually ran the offense.

please.

[GrapeApe]

Dwayne Wade would NOT make it past the Kings, Spurs or Blazers. You need a consistent and respected jumpshot playing in The western conference at the 2 spot. Can't go to the rim or shoot 15 foot bank shots all ththe time, especially with Shaq clogging the paint. Younger kids on here completely disregard Kobe's performances from 2000-2002 due do how much of a presence Shaq had. But I encourage everyone to go back and watch those series before thinking Wade and Kobe are an easy swap. Very idiotic.

Tmac is the ONLY swappable person in that scenario that's capable of having that type of success.

Wade had no issues carving up defenses with Shaq "clogging the paint", a past his prime Shaq at that. Yes Kobe was a better, more consitent jump shooter, but to suggest that Wade wouldn't have given those western teams fits is absurd. Young Wade right through his prime consistently shredded the best defenses in the league. There's no doubt he and Prime Shaq would have been a devastating duo.