Beverley: Harden is a stronger player than Wade, and the gap between them is not small.

On March 19th Beijing time, there has been considerable debate about who is the stronger player between Harden and Wade. Former NBA player Beverley also shared his view on a podcast program, stating that Harden is clearly a stronger player than Wade, and the gap is not insignificant. Here are his remarks—

“I know what the point of contention is. Yes, Wade has won championships, and I’m from Chicago, so I certainly like Wade a lot, and I have a good relationship with him. But speaking purely about individual player ability— you’re talking about scoring ability, ability to draw fouls, and playmaking ability after pick-and-rolls. Back then, many defenders would give Wade space to shoot on pick-and-rolls, I can’t deny that.”

“Is Wade strong in clutch situations? Absolutely strong. Sometimes we have indeed seen moments where Wade was more clutch, more of a game-winner than Harden. But when it comes to who is the better player—Harden is a stronger player than Wade.”

“Many people get confused because they only look at championships, but championships are team honors, you can’t disregard that. But what I’m talking about now is individual ability.Speaking purely individually, you have to choose Harden. This isn’t disrespect to Iverson or Wade, but I really think the gap is not small at all. I even believe that Harden might be one of the most elite scorers in basketball history, we really should acknowledge that.”

Wade, already inducted into the Hall of Fame, played 16 seasons in the NBA, was selected to the All-Star team 13 times in his career, made 8 All-NBA teams, became the scoring champion in the 2008-09 season, was selected to 3 All-Defensive teams, became the Finals MVP in the 2005-06 season, and won 3 NBA championships. In 1054 regular-season games played, Wade averaged 22 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 5.4 assists.

This season is Harden’s 17th season in the NBA. Throughout his career so far, he has been selected to the All-Star team 11 times, made 8 All-NBA teams, became the scoring champion 3 times, became the assists leader 2 times, was named the Sixth Man of the Year in the 2011-12 season, and won the regular-season MVP in the 2017-18 season.

Who do you think is the stronger player between Harden and Wade? Feel free to leave your comments.