Dwyane Wade and James Harden are both easily top 10 shooting guards of all time. But with Wade's entrance into the Hall of Fame, fans are beginning to debate which one of these two players had the better career.
Wade broke into the NBA during the 2003-04 season, while Harden's rookie year was in 2009-10. They did overlap for the last 10 years of Wade's 16-year career, facing off numerous times. Perhaps no matchup was more notable than the 2012 Finals, where Wade's Heat team beat Harden's Thunder squad in five games, with a young Harden coming off the bench in a sixth man role.
That gap in playoff success is where most people will point to. Wade has Harden far outclassed in postseason glory. But Harden has advantages in many statistical categories, in addition to an MVP award from 2018.
Here's a closer look at where the Wade vs. Harden debate stands.
(All stats current as of Aug. 11, 2023)
MORE: The key stats you need to know in the GOAT debate
Dwyane Wade vs. James Harden: Regular season stats
Harden has a clear advantage in traditional regular season statistics. He's averaged more points, rebounds and assists. Wade was a poor career 3-point shooter, whereas Harden has been pretty solid. And while Wade was no slouch, Harden was the more versatile scorer.
The issue with these statistics is that they don't totally capture defensive impact, where Wade has a huge edge on Harden. Wade was one of the better defenders of his era and an all-time great shot-blocking guard. Harden has been well-known for his lack of effort on the defensive end of the floor, although he has been pretty good as a post defender and has the strength to switch.
Wade's career averages are also hurt by a clear decline in the last three years of his career, where he bounced between Chicago and Cleveland before returning to Miami.
| Wade | Per Game | Harden |
| 22.0 | Points | 24.7 |
| 4.7 | Rebounds | 5.6 |
| 5.4 | Assists | 7.0 |
| 1.5 | Steals | 1.5 |
| 0.8 | Blocks | 0.5 |
| 3.2 | Turnovers | 3.7 |
| 33.9 | Minutes | 34.8 |
| 48.0 | Field goal % | 44.2 |
| 29.3 | 3-point % | 36.3 |
| 76.5 | Free throw % | 86.0 |
Harden has been wildly productive throughout his entire career. He's only widening the gap between himself and Wade as he continues to play into the 2023-24 season.
| Wade | Totals | Harden |
| 1,054 | Games | 1,000 |
| 23,165 | Points | 24,693 |
| 4,933 | Rebounds | 5,648 |
| 5,701 | Assists | 7,015 |
| 1,620 | Steals | 1,520 |
| 885 | Blocks | 543 |
| 3,326 | Turnovers | 3,734 |
| 35,773 | Minutes | 34,752 |
Dwyane Wade vs. James Harden: Regular season advanced stats
Harden rates very well in advanced statistics. His free throw and 3-point accuracy give him a better true shooting percentage than Wade. Harden also filled up the box score throughout his career, racking up 78 career triple-doubles in the regular season and playoffs to only five for Wade.
| Wade | Advanced | Harden |
| 23.5 | Player Efficiency Rating | 24.4 |
| 62.8 | Value Over Replacement | 76.0 |
| 5.0 | Box Plus/Minus | 6.7 |
| 120.7 | Win Shares | 158.0 |
| 55.4 | True Shooting % | 60.9 |
| 31.4 | Usage % | 30.0 |
Dwyane Wade vs. James Harden: Playoff stats
Wade certainly has a reputation as the better playoff performer. And it's hard to debate against three rings for Wade versus zero for Harden. Their playoff statistics are a lot closer than people probably realize, though.
| Wade | Per Game | Harden |
| 22.3 | Points | 22.7 |
| 5.2 | Rebounds | 5.5 |
| 4.9 | Assists | 6.3 |
| 1.5 | Steals | 1.7 |
| 1.0 | Blocks | 0.5 |
| 3.3 | Turnovers | 3.5 |
| 37.8 | Minutes | 35.9 |
| 47.4 | Field goal % | 42.4 |
| 33.8 | 3-point % | 33.8 |
| 78.0 | Free throw % | 86.9 |
One of the biggest differentiators between the two players is in their career block numbers in the playoffs. Wade has the most blocked shots by a guard in the playoffs and regular season combined. That defensive ability may be one of the biggest reasons why Wade's 22-10 record in playoff series dominates Harden's 15-14 record.
| Wade | Totals | Harden |
| 177 | Games | 160 |
| 3954 | Points | 3,637 |
| 928 | Rebounds | 884 |
| 870 | Assists | 1,013 |
| 273 | Steals | 267 |
| 175 | Blocks | 85 |
| 583 | Turnovers | 555 |
| 6,697 | Minutes | 5,750 |
Dwyane Wade vs. James Harden: Playoff advanced stats
| Wade | Advanced | Harden |
| 22.4 | Player Efficiency Rating | 22.0 |
| 12.3 | Value Over Replacement | 11.9 |
| 5.3 | Box Plus/Minus | 6.2 |
| 21.6 | Win Shares | 20.6 |
| 54.9 | True Shooting % | 58.5 |
| 30.1 | Usage % | 28.3 |
Dwyane Wade vs. James Harden: Accolades and awards
Both Wade and Harden have won their fair share of individual awards, although Wade never won a regular season MVP while Harden won one in 2018.
Wade and Harden also faced off in numerous All-Star games. Wade made the team for 12 consecutive years, from 2005 to 2016. Harden made 10 consecutive appearances from 2013 to 2022.
The debate will always circle back to rings, though. Harden had his chance as a sixth man for the Thunder early in his career to take one from Wade in 2012. That's been his best shot — he hasn't sniffed the Finals since.
| Wade | Accolades | Harden |
| 3 | Championships | 0 |
| 0 | MVPs | 1 |
| 1 | Finals MVPs | 0 |
| 8 | All-NBA | 7 |
| 3 | All-Defense | 0 |
| 13 | All-Star | 10 |
| 1 | Scoring titles | 3 |