Sent: Aug 16, 2011 12:54a
@ArturoGalletti @UptownReport @mia_heat_index At this point Wade is Grant Hill+a title.. We'll have to wait to see if his knees hold up.
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On Twitter: http://twitter.com/NerdNumbers/status/103328880659660800
That insane tweet led to this ridiculous post at the Wages of Wins Journal after Dwyane Wade was named one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history on this podcast. The author made two arguments
- Grant Hill and Wade were great early in their careers until they struggled with injuries.
- Wade is only viewed as the better player because he got to win a title with Shaquille O'Neal and lose a title with LeBron James.
My comments on the post:
This is nonsense, but Dre knew that before he posted it.
1st piece of nonsense: There’s a big difference between their injuries. Wade got hurt by crashing into other players & the floor. Hill got hurt because his ankles were as fundamentally flawed as Bill Walton’s feet. The doctors told him after his 2nd operation that HE WAS DESTINED TO BREAK HIS ANKLES PLAYING 82 GAMES OF BASKETBALL. Doctors also told Walton that he should have never played basketball w/ his defective feet. Hill couldn’t return to the game until his doctors built him new ankles. That wasn’t the case for Wade. His doctors simply repaired his knee & shoulder, not replace them. Wade was born to be great. Hill was not.
2nd piece of nonsense: Different decisions? Really? Funny how Dre completely ignored the fact that Hill left a playoff team in Detroit to play w/ Tim Duncan in ORL & “settled” for Tracy McGrady. It would’ve been a great decision if Hill’s INHERENTLY DEFECTIVE ANKLE hadn’t broke in the playoffs against the MIAMI HEAT (I LOVE irony)!
Wade vs. Hill is a great example of why longevity matters. Greatness in the NBA is Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… And Grant Hill wasn’t built for greatness.
As for the article, I expect this type of nonsense from the Dead Basketball Poets Society but not the WoW Journal. I’m disappointed in you, Dre. You can do better.In The Art of Greatness, I outlined three requirements for greatness on a basketball court: Performance, Presence and Perseverance. Hill had performance and presence early in his career, but he didn't have the perseverance to sustain them after his defective ankle was reconstructed. Here's what the Art of Greatness said about perseverance:
Aside from performance and presence, the great players also need perseverance. Walton and Russell gave a perfect example in “The Legends Journey”:
Walton: I was plagued, still am, with structural, congenital defects in my feet. By the end, they told me I never should’ve played basketball.
Russell: So you took a disability, couple of ‘em, and made a good career out of it with what you had to work with. See, that’s the most important thing - what you have to work with and what you do with that.
Everyone knows about Wade’s injury history. He established himself as the greatest shooting guard in the NBA after winning the title and Finals MVP in 2006, then lost his spot to injuries and free fall to a 15-67 record, and literally had to rebuild himself into the game’s best 2-guard.Enough prose. Let's get into the Wins Produced numbers for Wade and Hill.
For more information on Wins Produced, see the following links:
What Wins Produced Says and What It Does Not Say
Calculating Wins Produced
Frequently Asked Questions
Arturo Galletti covered the differences between the wins produced by Wade and Hill in this post at the WoW Journal. This spreadsheet shows Hill produced 138 wins in 16 seasons while Wade produced 110 wins in eight seasons. Hill only produced 101 wins after eight seasons.
The difference in their production also resulted in Wade's market value exceeding his career earnings by $102.5 million. Hill's production only exceeded his career earnings by $11.4 million.
It doesn't matter whether it's wins or money, Hill's career is no masterpiece when it comes to the art of greatness.
Grant Hill pre-injury, at his peak, was better than Wade ever was.
ReplyDeleteOf course, Wade will go down as being a better player, but that doesn't take anything away from how brilliant Hill was while he was healthy.
@brgulker:
ReplyDeleteThe autistic kid that makes every shot in garbage time has a pretty good peak, too. Doesn't make him the best shooter on the team. Players have to play. Hill couldn't play at the level Wade can.
Wade at his best was a far better player than hill at his best. just how it is, sorry.
ReplyDeleteHill at his best vs Kobe at his best? now THAT would be a good argument
You'll get no argument from me regarding your views on Hill vs. Wade. I do think Hill was a better player than Kobe at his peak, though.
ReplyDelete