In this YouTube debate, former NBA players Draymond Green and Baron Davis discuss which player—Dwyane Wade or James Harden—has the superior NBA résumé. They compare championship titles, Finals MVPs, regular‑season MVPs, All‑Star and All‑NBA selections, and overall longevity. A central point of contention is positional evolution: Harden’s move from shooting guard to point guard versus Wade’s swing‑man versatility (playing the 2, 3, and occasionally 4). The conversation also explores the difficulty of being the primary offensive system versus being a complementary star, referencing other NBA greats (LeBron James, Shaquille O’Neal, Dwight Howard, Kevin Durant, Paul George, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala, Steph Curry, Dirk Nowitzki) to illustrate these concepts. Both participants ultimately acknowledge that each player’s résumé is strong, with personal style preferences influencing which résumé they would emulate. The debate is informal, peppered with repeated affirmations and occasional banter, but consistently returns to concrete metrics—titles, MVPs, positional roles, and system responsibilities—to argue their points.
Chapters
James Harden or D-Wade? Per Patrick Beverley, he picks Harden over D-Wade because of longevity.
Man, I played against both of 'em and really both of 'em in their prime. Like I played D-Wade, I came into the league, they was winning championships in Miami. But in saying that, man, James Harden's so fucking good, bro. He's so fucking good, bro.
He's so good.
The reason I'm going to pick D-Wade I'm gonna pick D-Wade. A, he won championships, and he won championship as Finals MVP carrying a team in his third year. I'm gonna pick— yes, he had the Diesel, of course, and Diesel changed everything, but I'm gonna pick D-Wade because of that reason. I'm gonna also pick D-Wade because I think if Harden stayed a 2-guard, his career isn't necessarily what it is today. Him changing over to the point guard changed everything. Now, don't get me wrong, he still would've been an All-Star. He still would've been perennial. All of those things. But I mean, the dominance that James Harden had as a point guard, I don't think he would have had that same dominance as a 2 guard. And so I think right now what's being compared is the idea that James Harden is a 2 because you're comparing him to D-Wade, but he not a 2. James Harden's best years in the NBA and majority of his years, he's a point guard. And so I don't really love the comparison. I think early in James' career, The comparison was there because he was a 2. Once he switched to the point, he became one— nobody says it, but he became one of the best point guards we've ever seen. And so in saying that, I just don't think the comparison is there. And that's why I'm just gonna pick D-Wade, because I didn't gotta go with the body of work. NBA Finals and, uh, NBA Finals MVP, probably the same amount of All-Stars as James, probably the same amount of All-NBAs as James. Mm-hmm. Obviously doesn't have what— James won 2 MVPs, right?
Yeah, something like that. I mean, they, I mean, it measures up.
1, 2, whatever. He won MVP, you know what I'm saying? So I just think it's not a good comparison. One's a point guard, one of the better point guards we've ever seen. One's one of the better 2 guards we've ever seen. So I don't really understand the comparison. And that's why I'm gonna go with D-Wade because I start picking on certain things, and the 3 championships got a roll with that.
D-Wade started his career his rookie season as a point guard.
For 1 year.
I'm just saying, uh, for 1 year, maybe 2, I believe. Uh, no, he moved to the 2 his second year. James Harden started at the 2, moved to the point guard. Okay, the hardest thing to do is to go from a 2 to a 1. And then D-Wade, I would say over the course of D-Wade's career— and I understand what Pat Bev is saying about longevity— D-Wade played the 2, the 3, and the 4. So he started as, you know, like one of the best swingmen ever in the game.
He wasn't really no 4.
But he played the 4.
Yeah, so, so has Klay Thompson. He played I mean Kevin Durant, like Paul George. All these guys have played the 4 at this point.
Klay Thompson has never been a 4.
No, no, no, no, no. There, there have been lineups where he's been the 4.
Klay Thompson has never been the 4.
I've seen film. I've seen film of Klay Thompson as the 4 in some of our lineups.
And he's a what?
He's a shooting guard.
Okay.
But, but it's a new NBA though. 2s play the 4 all the time.
Thank you. But he is a—
And D-Wade is too.
Shooting guard.
Man, come on, BD. That's, that's terrible. Come on, BD.
I'm just saying. I'm saying, I'm just saying. I'm just saying. D-Wade has been on the court with a point guard, a shooting guard, D-Wade, LeBron, and Udonis Haslem, correct?
Yes. LeBron was the 4.
D-Wade was the what? 3.
Who was the 2?
Or the 2. It's harder to go from a 2 to a 1.
I can agree with that.
This is why I go with James. And then on top of that, being a system is much harder because you are the system. So you, you're, you're somewhere in between a D-Wade and LeBron. That is the only thing that's stopping you from being LeBron or having that same type of cachet à la Dirk Nowitzki, one-one. But we know how how tough that road and that journey was, is the Warriors, one of the most dominant teams in NBA history. And so I look at a degree of difficulty, who has to do it on their own, right, as the system. So you have to be all cylinders and everything rests on you, as opposed to I am one of the best complementary— Draymond Green. All-time greatest one-of-ones that could be in that category too, right?
Listen, I played against James Harden in the, in the like peak of his prime. Very meaningful games. Is Dwight Howard a Hall of Famer?
He will be. He should be.
Okay, so you just gonna act like he ain't had Dwight Howard, who's a Hall of Famer? You just say he did it by himself. He had Dwight Howard.
No, I didn't say he did it by himself. I said he did it as the system.
Yeah, but he still had great players to make that system work.
Yes, absolutely, bro. Abso-fucking-lutely he did. But as the system is harder on you being the focal point of the team and of the offense— not saying that D-Wade was not the focal point of the Miami Heat, but he was not the focal point of the Miami Heat. That was LeBron James.
In '06 he wasn't.
That was Shaquille O'Neal.
Man, stop it. I'm a huge Shaq fan. Shaq even said, "Hey, man, this is his team." Shaq himself said this.
Yeah, 'cause he was killing.
Okay, so you can't say he wasn't the focal point?
Because he was killing. He caught flame. He was killing. We didn't see that. Nobody saw that coming. Shaq was the one getting the attention.
All right, listen. All right, listen.
I'll ask you this question, Biggie.
I'm pissed as fuck.
The system, the system ran around.
So I'm gonna ask you this question.
Andre Iguodala was the MVP for the Golden State Warriors. But who was that?
That's all fine and dandy, but you're not about to say Andre Iguodala and Dwyane Wade run in the finals.
I'm not saying that. I am saying there's more pressure on Steph Curry to not get it.
But it ain't apples to apples.
As opposed to—
That ain't apples.
You know what I'm saying?
But I'm gonna ask you this question.
I'm not comparing Andre to D-Wade.
Let me ask you this question.
Go ahead.
All things considered, money.
Yeah.
Accolades, you name it. All things considered, are you yourself, if you left this earth and they came, they, you come back and they said, here's this resume, here's this resume, which one do you want to be? Are you picking James Harden resume? Or are you picking Draymond Green's resume?
Any basketball player who wants to achieve greatness at the highest level is going to take the resume of the champion. But if you, if you took away the resume and showed me the style—
Oh yeah, James is different.
And said, "Hey, who do I, which style would I like to import myself in as an NBA player?" Like, For me personally, James Harden.
Of course, James. I don't question that one bit.
Like I wanna play point guard. I wanna rock like James Harden. You know, like I like how, I like his style. I like his freedom. Not saying that if I was a shooting guard, right? If I was a shooting guard, I would pick Dwyane Wade, right? I will, I like that mode. I can dunk on people, cross people. Nobody can guard me, you know? MVP, like that's gonna be your mode. But in this James or D-Wade, it's like the way I look at it resume-wise, yes, fuck yes. D-Wade is like, you don't lose. There is no loss.
No, there's no loss. Neither one of them. I'll take both.
Yeah, there's—
Give me one of them, I'll take both.
Like, no, that's what I'm saying. Like there's no loss. So like I'm just be throwing up comparisons trying to figure out how tight of a comparison can we make to these players when you really can't compare 'em because their resumes are different, their games are different, their styles are different. And it's like, damn, if somebody told me I can be D-Wade, you damn skippy, I wanna be D-Wade. If somebody told me I can be James Harden, you damn skippy, I wanna be James Harden. And so like, man, you, it, it, it's a win-win.
