Dwyane Wade’s limelight gets clawed! It’s a special occasion for the Miami Heat legend, as the franchise made the official announcement to honor him with a statue outside the Kaseya Center. As the word is out, the pundits have begun their show and peeped at the legendary guard’s career. Of course, Wade has a secured legacy with an impressive resume but also has an unclaimed badge, the league MVP. While Wade was picked as the #1 player to have an MVP snub, former NBA Champ picked LeBron James‘ rival with a controversial take.

Coming into the league as the 5th overall pick alongside James in 2003, Wade went on to have a glorious career, winning 3 rings and a Finals MVP. Notably, two of the rings came in during his legendary pair-up with the Akron Hammer. On account of Wade’s statue enshrinement announcement, ESPN carried out a special segment in NBA Today, celebrating the legend.

Chiney Ogwumike, the WNBA star, while speaking of Dwyane Wade, put him on a pedestal and said, “Outside of Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant he is the greatest shooting guard that I’ve seen… He’s number three right there on the list.” Moreover, she also considered him to be the best player in the league to not have a league MVP. Interestingly, she even pointed out D-Wade’s “unselfish” act during James’ Miami stint.

However, other panel members, Zach Lowe and Kendrick Perkins, weren’t happy with the take. Lowe made a subtle plug-in to the logo, the late Jerry West. On the other end, Perkins was waiting for his controversial pick. The former Boston Celtics star picked Kawhi Leonard. Moreover, he also tagged a LeBron James dig with his “hot” take. Perks added, “Some of the greatest playoff runs in the history of the game, then broke up happy homes. He did make one of the greatest players of all time tap out, and I’m talking about LeBron James, especially when Kawhi was in San Antonio.”

Was Kawhi Leonard a tough nut for LeBron James?

If the names Kawhi Leonard and LeBron James pop up together, only one thing comes to mind. It’s the visual from Game 5 of the 2013 NBA Finals. When James was at the free throw line, he looked at Leonard, clocking back in. You will be surprised to know the 4x NBA Champs’ reaction. Generally, King James is loaded with confidence and can take down anyone in front of him. But, a less experienced Spurs defender made James cuss in frustration.

That’s the amount of impact the Claw had left on James. The 33-year-old showcased a lockdown defense with his long wingspan. James indeed had a tough time dealing with him for two consecutive NBA Finals. Ultimately, the Terminator played spoilsport in wrecking James’ threepeat in the 2014 Finals.

Above all, one of the impressive achievements of Leonard includes his Toronto Raptors stint. It’s when the Canadian side roped in the star power forward for a single season and churned out the franchise’s first-ever ring. And of course, the star walked away with the Finals MVP. Now that James is on the verge of his retirement, will the duo have a final run at their rivalry? Let us know in the comments.

Before leaving, do watch the Dual Threat Show hosted by BG12 where Bulldogs’ Asia Avinger details her experience with Kobe Bryant, her WNBA ROTY picks, and more in the video below.