Dwyane Wade or James Harden? Who's better? A recent explosive back-and-forth between former NBA player Patrick Beverley and Wade is making waves across the internet and social media, and for most, the subject is a non-conversation; for Beverley, however, it is.
Beverley recently stated that he believes Harden, who's still playing in the NBA with the Cleveland Cavaliers, is the better shooting guard over Wade. Of course, there's no argument who's No. 1 and 2: Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.
As for No. 3? Wade has always been considered in that spot by the majority, but Beverly's pushback and support for Harden appeared to rub Wade in a very wrong way, and he took it to Beverly over his comments, and it was a fiery response from the Miami Heat legend.
Dwyane Wade isn't buying Patrick Beverly's stance about James Harden
Beverly's comments didn't beat around the bush, just as Wade's response didn't either. When posed with the assumption that Wade was clearly the best shooting guard outside of Jordan and Bryant, Beverly responded with, "It’s not even close," referencing that Harden belongs at the No. 3 spot in shooting guards.
In Harden's defense, he has had an incredible career and is certainly one of the very best offensive scorers of all time, despite the fact that his playoff crumblings and lack of postseason winning rings louder than his scoring success. Harden is great and will someday be in the Hall of Fame for good reason.
Is he a better shooting guard than Wade, though? Beverley says so, but Wade, in a tense response, pushed back on Beverley and didn't hold back.
“My career was hit by injuries and I still had a top 75 career. You don’t know the wrath of me as a player you only know a portion, and you still couldn’t f**k with me then," Wade said. “I don’t understand how you can have a conversation about me and state facts when you never as good as me… Pat, where is your facts to say that someone is better?… don’t you ever fix your mouth to say somebody is better than me when you wasn’t better than me at anything in this game of basketball. You can’t do that.”
Dwyane Wade responds to Pat Bev saying James Harden is better than him:
— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) March 27, 2026
“I don’t understand how you can have a conversation about me and state facts when you never as good as me… Pat, where is your facts to say that someone is better?… don’t you ever fix your mouth to say… pic.twitter.com/6K5HMyUAJI
Now, Wade has Beverley on one thing: at no point in his career was Beverley ever on Wade's level. Beverly was never a great basketball player and was known more for on-court antics than impact, even though he was a good defender and made the game hard for many opposing teams. In the big picture, however, Beverly isn't there.
What distances Wade from Harden is that the three-time champion was great at both ends of the floor, offensively and defensively. Harden has never been celebrated for his defense; he's only celebrated for his elite offense. Wade was elite as a defender and offensive scorer, which also led to his success in winning.
Wade isn't disrespecting Harden, of course, because just as Wade is recognized as a top-75 player in NBA history, so is Harden. Harden got there only for what he's produced. Wade got there for what he also produced, but also for what he's achieved. Wade is simply a complete player, all around. Beverley's entitled to his opinion, but Wade is also entitled to defend himself with facts.
Lastly, consider the accomplishments of Jordan and Bryant: they have 11 titles combined, and Wade contributes to the trio with three of his own. Where are Harden's contributions in this regard? Wade has him beat, that's for sure.