Bum knee to Legendary: Ranking all of Dwyane Wade’s NBA Finals performances

To celebrate Dwyane Wade’s enshrinement in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, this week at All U Can Heat is “Dwyane Wade Week.” Each day, we will celebrate his career, rank his greatest performances and break down the biggest moments.

Dwyane Wade was a legendary Finals performer. He’s one of nine players to win Finals MVP at age 24 or younger. He was getting it down on the biggest stage down the very beginning. While winning Finals MVP, he propelled the Miami Heat to their first championship in 2006.

This was the first of five Wade Finals appearances. He was not phased by the big moments; he rose to the occasion as the lights got brighter. Even with his team’s back against the wall in the Finals, you could never count out a squad with a healthy Dwyane Wade on the roster.

With the table set, we rank D-Wade’s finals performances

5. 2014 vs San Antonio Spurs

Stats: 15.2 PPG, 43.8 FG%, 3.8 REB, 2.6 AST, 1.6 STL, 0.0 BLK

Remember three seconds ago when we said you couldn’t count out a Heat team with a healthy D-Wade on the roster? The 2014 Heat team did not have that. Wade denied that his body was failing him in the 2014 Finals but signs were there.

In the previous series, Pacers agitator Lance Stephenson pointed out that Wade’s knees weren’t right. Though Wade was able to shut up these trash talkers in the conference finals (he averaged 20 points on 62% True Shooting that series), his balky knees did affect his play.

He got his second knee surgery in 2012 and load managed for a lot of the 2014 season missing 28 games. Wade is on record stating that his first knee surgery in 2002 was not a surgery that had his long-term career in mind. He wouldn’t make any excuses, but his knees plagued him this series.

With Wade and the most of the Heat’s core struggling, Miami lost the series to the San Antonio Spurs four games to one. It was a lopsided Spurs victory, showing how valuable D-Wade is. San Antonio was coming for revenge and played a beautiful brand of team basketball. These next two Finals appearances are interchangeable as D-Wade rose to the occasion in both.

4. 2012 vs Oklahoma City Thunder

Stats: 22.6 PPG, 43.5 FG%, 6.0 REB 5.2 AST, 1.4 STL, 1.2 BLK

This series featured several future and current Hall-of-Famers, including Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Chris Bosh and LeBron James.

With these stars on the court, Wade’s light was not dimmed. He averaged 22.3 points, six rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.2 blocks. His lowest finals points average up to that stage of his career, this was the first season Wade relinquished being “The Guy” to LeBron. Wade was adapting to his new role throughout this season and began relying on skill more than his freakish athleticism. He was mastering his post-game, playing off-ball, and his mid-range.

Kevin Durant also has an elite mid-range game. He famously told D-Wade he was too small during these finals as he sunk a mid-range jumper over the six-foot-four Wade. The two all-timers cracked a smile as they ran back on defense but Wade got his against KD too.

One could argue this is a better performance than Wade’s 2013 showing. Statistically, it is better, but the context of 2013 makes it sweeter. Speaking of…

3. 2013 vs San Antonio Spurs

Stats: 19.6 PPG, 47.6 FG%, 4 REB, 4.6 AST, 1.9 STL, 1.3 BLK

The first Finals matchup between the Big 3 Heat and the Tim Duncan-Kawhi Leonard-Gregg Popovich Spurs was an instant classic.

We remember Ray Allen’s all-time clutch shot, but Wade wasn’t too shabby himself. He averaged 19.6 points on nearly 48% shooting, plus 4.6 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game. The 2012 stats are better but Wade was more efficient in this one and the Spurs were a better team.

Oklahoma City and San Antonio had similar records but the Spurs had a higher net rating in their respective Finals seasons. Combine that with the fact that San Antonio was led by arguably the greatest coach of all-time, Popovich, and that they’d go on to win the championship the next season, and it’s clear this was Miami’s toughest Finals opponent during Wade’s tenure.

Wade’s Game 4 was a masterclass. With the Heat facing a 2-1 deficit, Wade etched his name in the history books. After dropping 32 points, six rebounds, four assists, and six steals, Wade became the first player to drop 32 points and six steals in a Finals game since 1988. 

There’s no telling where the Heat would’ve been without D-Wade taking over the game on both sides of the floor. This was a great performance but not good enough for Finals MVP. This next showing was good enough for MVP if it would’ve went Miami’s way.

2. 2011 vs Dallas Mavericks

Stats: 26.5 PPG, 54.6 FG%, 7.0 REB, 5.2 AST, 1.5 STL, 1.5 BLK

Wade was a man on a mission in the 2011 Finals. After being eliminated in the first round in three straight playoff appearances, it was time to get back to that championship level. The Heat did not lose this series because of Dwyane Wade.

Wade was basically putting up 27, 7 and 5 on a game-to-game basis while making nearly 55% of his shots. This was his most efficient Final series as he sliced and diced his way to the basket. Game 2 was one of the best games of Wade’s playoff career — 36 points on 65% shooting is next-level stuff. Wade was still in his prime and his first step, not yet effected by his knee, was second to none.

He had a great case as the best player in this series. 2023 Hall of Fame classmate, Dirk Nowitzki, was named Finals MVP after Dallas beat Miami in six games. Wade had the better counting stats and a higher True Shooting percentage (61.4 to 53.7), but Dirk had great clutch moments in the series.

A player on the losing team has been named Finals MVP one time. Jerry West did it back in 1969, the inaugural year for the award. Though Wade was spectacular, it was a steep hill to climb to grab this award for the second time. This wasn’t the first time he outplayed Dirk in a Finals matchup…

1. 2006 vs Dallas Mavericks

Stats: 34.7 PPG, 46.8 FG%, 7.8 REB, 3.8 AST, 2.7 STL, 1.0 BLK

The series Wade became “Flash” on a national level. This was one of the greatest Finals performances in NBA history, and Wade accomplished this at only 24 years old. The Heat had their back against the wall again and of course the third-year player out of Robbins, Illinois stepped up.

The 2006 Heat roster had many future Hall of Famers out of their primes. Shaquille O’Neal was still an All-NBA level player. Gary Payton and Alonzo Mourning were contributors but they weren’t in their 90s forms. It was amazing to watch these all-time player marvel at Wade’s finals performance.

In his first trip to the Finals, Wade was sensational averaging 34.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 3.8 assists. On his way to winning his first Finals MVP, Wade turned it up a notch after the Heat went down 2-0. Over the last four games (all Heat wins) Wade carved up the Mavericks dropping 39 points per game. He got to the free throw line 18.3 times per game in this monster stretch.

His free-throw attempts have long been debated. Some fans believe the refs were calling games to benefit Wade and the Heat. In reality, Wade is one of the best drivers this league has seen and Dallas had nobody that could stay in front him. The Mavericks were throwing out guys like Josh Howard, Devin Harris, Jerry Stackhouse and Jason Terry to guard Dwyane Wade. That plan was not going to work as Wade consistently got by them and got hacked at the rim.

Wade is the third-best shooting guard in NBA history and the kind of legendary player who consistently raised his game in the biggest moments. Facing several deficits in the Finals, his teams reigned victorious more times than not. He will rightfully be inducted as a first-ballot Hall of Famer this Saturday, Aug. 12.