Nothing says peak NBA offseason like a debate about the legacies of two players who have not faced one another in nearly seven years.
With the 2023 NBA Finals, free agency and Summer League in basketball fans’ rearview, Hall of Famer Paul Pierce made an appearance on YouTube’s “It Is What It Is” show hosted by rap legends Cam’ron and Mase. During his time on the show, Pierce re-ignited the debate that compares his career accomplishments to those of Dwyane Wade, who is set to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame in August 2023.
“Put (Shaquille O’Neal) on my team. Put LeBron (James) and (Chris) Bosh with me. I’m not gonna win one? You don’t think? Me, LeBron and Bosh — we’re not gonna win one?” Pierce said, indicating Wade’s success was largely a product of his team’s strength.
After emphasizing why he believes he’s a better scorer than Wade — and clarifying that his comments aren’t meant to be a knock on Wade — Pierce reiterated that “my skills went unappreciated because I didn’t get to play with a lot of great players.”
Pierce’s comments reopen a debate he first brought up in 2019 while still working on ESPN’s “NBA Countdown.” Let’s take a closer look at the debate by comparing the stats and accolades of the two Hall of Famers, whose careers overlapped for 14 seasons.
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Dwyane Wade vs. Paul Pierce: Regular season stats
While Pierce is adamant that his scoring is superior to Wade’s, Wade has a higher peak as a scorer and a higher career average. In the 2008-09 season, Wade led the league with a career-high average of 30.2 points over 79 games. Pierce, who never won a scoring title, maxed out at an average of 26.8 points over 79 games during the 2005-06 season.
With respect to scoring, it is worth noting that Pierce’s scoring tanked during his age 38 and 39 seasons with the Clippers, in which he averaged 5.4 points over 93 games. Wade never averaged single digits over the course of his career.
Elsewhere, Pierce has the edge as a rebounder, 3-point shooter and free-throw shooter, while Wade averaged more assists and shot better from the field overall.
Wade
Per Game
Pierce
22.0
Points
19.7
4.7
Rebounds
5.6
5.4
Assists
3.5
1.5
Steals
1.3
0.8
Blocks
0.6
3.2
Turnovers
2.6
33.9
Minutes
34.2
48.0
Field goal %
44.5
29.3
3-point %
36.8
76.5
Free throw %
80.6
Wade
Totals
Pierce
1,054
Games
1,343
23,165
Points
26,397
4,933
Rebounds
7,527
5,701
Assists
4,708
1,620
Steals
1,752
885
Blocks
745
3,326
Turnovers
3,532
35,773
Minutes
45,880
Dwyane Wade vs. Paul Pierce: Regular season advanced stats
There is an even split between Wade and Pierce in the six regular season advanced stats categories below. Pierce’s career win shares are the biggest difference as he has nearly 30 more than Wade. It is again worth noting that Pierce played in nearly 300 more games than Wade.
Wade
Advanced
Pierce
23.5
Player Efficiency Rating
19.7
62.8
Value Over Replacement
65.5
5.0
Box Plus/Minus
3.7
120.7
Win Shares
150.0
55.4
True Shooting %
56.8
31.4
Usage %
26.8
Dwyane Wade vs. Paul Pierce: Playoff stats
Similar to their regular-season comparison, Wade edges Pierce in postseason scoring thanks largely to the fact Pierce played a limited role in his final two seasons.
Wade’s postseason scoring peak also clears Pierce’s. In 2010, Wade averaged 33.2 points in a series loss to Pierce’s Celtics. Pierce’s highest average for a single postseason was 27.1 points per game over 10 games in 2003.
The rebounding figure and 3-point efficiency are closer, but Pierce still gets the edge. Wade has better assist numbers and holds a slight edge in blocks and steals.
Wade
Per Game
Pierce
22.3
Points
18.7
5.2
Rebounds
5.8
4.9
Assists
3.4
1.5
Steals
1.2
1.0
Blocks
0.6
3.3
Turnovers
2.8
37.8
Minutes
36.6
47.4
Field goal %
42.3
33.8
3-point %
35.5
78.0
Free throw %
83.0
Wade
Totals
Pierce
177
Games
170
3,954
Points
3,180
928
Rebounds
985
870
Assists
579
273
Steals
204
175
Blocks
105
583
Turnovers
476
6,697
Minutes
6,229
Dwyane Wade vs. Paul Pierce Playoff advanced stats
Wade has the edge in each of the below six advanced stat categories in the postseason, where the two played nearly an identical amount of games. Wade, however, played nearly 500 more postseason minutes than Pierce, which would have an impact on the win shares.
Wade
Advanced
Pierce
22.4
Player Efficiency Rating
17.2
12.3
Value Over Replacement
8.1
5.3
Box Plus/Minus
3.2
21.6
Win Shares
16.3
54.9
True Shooting %
55.4
30.1
Usage %
25.7
Dwyane Wade vs. Paul Pierce: Accolades and awards
With respect to accolades, Wade was able to accomplish a bit more than Pierce. Wade’s three NBA titles outdo Pierce’s one, though each player was named NBA Finals MVP once.
Wade was named to an All-NBA Team twice as many times as Pierce and earned three All-Defensive Team selections while Pierce failed to earn any. Both received double-digit All-Star selections, though Wade (13) has a slight edge over Pierce (10).
Wade’s lone scoring title also gives him an edge there. Both are members of the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team and both have been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Wade
Accolades
Pierce
3
Championships
1
1
Finals MVPs
1
8
All-NBA
4
3
All-Defense
0
13
All-Star
10
1
Scoring Titles
0
Dwyane Wade vs. Paul Pierce head-to-head
Unlike many debates, fans witnessed Wade and Pierce go head-to-head over 50 times in their respective careers, with the two facing off 33 times in the regular season and meeting in an additional four postseason series.
Wade gets the edge in the head-to-head record in both the regular season and postseason, including a classic seven-game series in the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals.
Wade
Pierce
22-11
Regular season record
11-22
21.3
PPG
19.5
4.3
RPG
5.5
5.2
APG
3.3
13-9
Playoff record
13-9
3
Playoff series wins
1
25.4
Playoff PPG
17.8
5.5
Playoff RPG
5.0
5.1
Playoff APG
2.5
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