“LeBron and Dwyane Wade are in front of Pippen and Jordan” - Gilbert Arenas praises LeBron James and Dwyane Wade’s all-round game
Former NBA player Gilbert Arenas has come out to say he believes LeBron James and Dwyane Wade are the most skilled duo in league history.
The debate started earlier this year after Tracy McGrady said Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant are the most skilled duo the NBA has ever seen. LeBron agreed, adding that they are also better than Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, which of course sparked a reaction from Skip Bayless.
However, Arenas went ahead to point out that there are several categories that need to be considered outside of offense. While acknowledging that there's probably no one better than the Brooklyn Nets duo offensively, Arenas said that LeBron James and Dwyane Wade were better skilled on both ends of the floor.
In a sit-down with DJ Vlad on VLAD TV, he said:
"I would disagree because if we're talking about offensively skill dribbling skill then yeah but defense and jumping ability is a skill too. Dwyane Wade and LeBron, you know, the way they played the passing lanes, jump, block shots, played defense, I mean their skill level on just the game itself was very high."
"Yes, Kyrie and Kevin durant are offensively juggernauts. They might not be, like, Dwyane wade wasn't this amazing dribbler, slasher, dunker, blocker. You look at his creativity, once he got in the air you, got LeBron jumping over people, I mean, the things that they did like that's skill."
"So, it's hard because if you're just looking at the one dimension of just dribbling and creating your own shot then yeah but when you're talking about overall, I would say LeBron and Dwyane Wade are in front of Pippen and Jordan."
Even as Arenas picked James and Wade in the all-round category, he acknowledged Jordan and Pippen's partnership.
LeBron James and Dwyane Wade reached four consecutive NBA Finals in their four years together
LeBron left Cleveland in 2010 to join the Miami Heat, which pissed off the Cavaliers fans. However, they proved it was the right decision for his career as he reached the NBA Finals in the four seasons he spent in South Beach.
The superteam in Miami was an instant success as they found their way to the finals. Unfortunately, they failed to win the title in their first year together as the Dallas Mavericks sought payback for Wade denying them a championship in 2006.
Led by Dwyane Wade and LeBron James, the Miami Heat mounted this incredible late comeback to head to the 2011 Finals 🔥 https://t.co/bpCXjA3YFP
However, they were not to be stopped the following year, as they went ahead and won two consecutive titles. They came close to three-peating, but the San Antonio Spurs stood in their way, winning the 2014 finals 4-1.
Jordan and Pippen, on the other hand, never lost a finals series. They reached that level six times and came out the victors, with MJ winning six Finals MVP awards.