Dwyane Wade isn’t letting Pat Bev’s recent assertion that James Harden is a “better player” than him go unchecked.
As you may have seen, Bev shared his immediately debated take in a recent YouTube video, even going so far as to argue that he doesn’t even think it’s “close” between the two.
“When you talk about a better player, James Harden is a better player than Dwyane Wade, right?” the Rockets and Clippers alum said, as seen below.
Wade later caught wind of Bev’s remarks, spending several minutes on a recent episode of his The Checkin podcast breaking down his issues with the comparison while also pinpointing what he sees as the inherent fallacy of such talk.
“[Bev] was definitely very definitive in his answer,” Wade said. “And I was just sitting there like, ‘Okay, Pat, what's your facts to say that someone's better?’ Just come out and say what I personally like, the style of play that I like to see is X, Y, and Z. Don't you ever fix your mouth to say nobody is better than me when you wasn't better than me. Like, you can't do that. You're talking about a better player, you're talking about every aspect of the game of basketball. You know how good I was at a lot of aspects of the game.”
Wade went on to express disagreement with positing one player as better than the other, particularly when talking about those who would be considered among “the top 75” in the league. Notably, this part of his response is in line with comments recently made by Michael Jordan, who’s not fond of the larger GOAT debate and instead sees every accomplished player as part of a shared legacy that continues to build with each generation.
“You're not in the top 75,” Wade added. “Stop talking about the people in the top 75. I don't understand where this came from. … Everybody in that top 75 is better at something than someone else, but we all in that room for a reason. This is just factual. I don't understand it.”
Bev also got some praise from Wade, who said he’s glad to see him “back on the microphone” and going viral. Still, saying that Harden is “better” than him is simply not something he could let slide.
“You don't know the wrath of me as a player,” Wade said. “You know a portion and you still couldn't fuck with me then. But Pat is a dawg. Pat is a good defender. Pat had an incredible career. But no, certain conversations you can't have, bro. I'm just telling the truth.”
