Dwyane Wade and Paul Pierce’s Beef Begs the Question: Who Was Better?

Dwyane Wade and Paul Pierce were frequent adversaries during their respective NBA careers. Apparently, some grudges never die.

Last month, Pierce, during an appearance on rapper Cam'ron's talk show "It Is What It Is", implied that he was a better scorer than Wade, who will be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2023 on Saturday. Pierce also said that if he had played with some of Wade's star teammates — notably Shaquille O'Neal, LeBron James and Chris Bosh — he would have more than one ring, which he won in 2008 with the Boston Celtics.

"Put Shaq on my team. Put LeBron and Bosh with me. I’m not gonna win one?” Pierce said. “Put me, LeBron and Bosh... we not gonna win a couple?”

This is not the first time Pierce has claimed the edge over Wade. In 2018, during his time at ESPN, Pierce said on NBA Countdown that the choice between him or Wade was an "easy" one in his favor.

"When I was 24 years old, you give me Shaq. When I was 24, 25, you give me Lebron and Bosh, I'd be sitting on five or six championships, easy," Pierce said.

Wade had been mum on the subject, until Tuesday. Speaking on the Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz, the 41-year-old said "rent is expensive in America, and I'm living rent free right now, so let him keep going. I like living rent free."

The two clearly are not sending Christmas cards to each other anytime soon. But their beef begs one question: Who was better?

For their careers, Wade has the upper hand in points per game, assists per game, steals per game, blocks per game (he is the all-time leader in blocks for a guard, with 885) and field goal percentage. Pierce is ahead in rebounds per game, three-point percentage and free-throw percentage.

What about their peak performances? Both have a finals MVP, with Wade winning his in 2006 and Pierce winning his in 2008. But Wade clearly had the better series, averaging 34.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.7 steals per game as Miami stormed back from a 2-0 deficit against Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks.

Pierce was impressive in Boston's six-game triumph over Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers, to be sure, with 21.8 points, 6.3 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 1.2 steals per contest. But, especially considering Wade was more efficient from the field in his MVP-winning performance, it does not quite match up to what the Heat guard pulled off.

Finally, the advanced metrics mostly favor Wade, who bests Pierce in Player Efficiency Rating, Win Shares per 48 minutes and Box Plus/Minus for their regular season careers. Interestingly, Pierce can claim more total Win Shares and a greater lifetime Value Over Replacement Player, in large part because he maintained his stats over nearly 300 more career games.

Wade can play the ultimate trump card in this battle, though: He had far better numbers in the playoffs, both on a per-minute basis and in total (including more championship rings, with three to Pierce's one).

Plus, Pierce's claim regarding teammates does not quite add up. After all, he suited up in Boston alongside All-Stars Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo. That might not be quite as good of a trio as O'Neal — who was traded by Miami to the Phoenix Suns in 2008, two years before the Heat's big three was formed — James and Bosh, but it's a terrific one nonetheless.

Pierce was a great player and a deserving member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, where Wade will join him in a matter of days. But with apologies to The Truth, we have to give Wade the edge as the superior talent on the court.