Dwyane Wade

After a phenomenal performance in the NBA finals, everyone is suddenly asking "Is Dwyane Wade the best player in the NBA?" He was certainly the best player in the NBA finals. But in the whole league? I'm not ready to agree with that quite yet. For three reasons.

1) Defense. His athleticism and determination allow him to be defensively competitive, but he's ultimately an offensive player, who generally focuses his energies to that end. And it certainly doesn't hurt having Shaq and Zo patrolling the paint when his man gets by him. Don't get me wrong, the kid is still young, and will surely improve this facet of his game, but right now he's about average. Kobe is a far better defender, LeBron too (when he wants to be)... hell, so is Morris Peterson.

2) Shooting Range: Wade obviously prefers to get to the rim, something he does as well or better than anyone else in the game. And his mid-range jump shot continues to improve. What Wade currently lacks is 3-point range. He started to add it to his repertoire this past season, but it is not yet a facet that concerns his defenders. Kobe and LeBron both have tremendous range.

3) Reliance on the Refs: Well, this is the main thing stopping me from anointing Wade as the best in the league. More than any other player, including Allen Iverson, Wade relies on getting the call and getting to the line. The more fouls he draws, the more defenders lay off him, the more he hits open jumpers. There's no question that Wade's ability to get to the rim is excellent, and he does get fouled regularly. But I have never seen another player get the benefit of the doubt so often so early in their career as Wade. The refs in the NBA finals were disgraceful in that regard. Absolutely disgraceful. I mean, there's star treatment (Jordan, Kobe, LeBron, etc.), and then there's Wade treatment (Wade).

At the end of the day, Dwyane Wade is surely one of the top players at any position in the game right now. But in terms of what he can do on the court, I believe that Kobe (as much as I hate him off the court) and LeBron are both better players.

Deal with that.