Inside The Heat

Heat Fans Rush To Defend Dwyane Wade In Donovan Mitchell Debate

Shandel Richardson|
Dec 12, 2018; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell (45) drives to the hoop against Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade (3) in the third quarter at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Swinger-Imagn Images
Dec 12, 2018; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell (45) drives to the hoop against Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade (3) in the third quarter at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Swinger-Imagn Images | Jeff Swinger-Imagn Images

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Miami Heat

YouTuber Rusty Buckets recently started an interesting debate.

While Donovan Mitchell was in the middle of a 43-point performance in the Cleveland Cavaliers' victory against the Indiana Pacers in Game 3, he posed a question: Is Mitchell the best small player in NBA history?

Buckets posted on X: "Has there been a guy Mitchells height who plays as big as he does, like, ever? I can't think of one off the top of my head,"

The post drew more than a half million views. Many of the responses mentioned Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade. Fans felt Wade was a more dynamic player for his size. Wade was generally listed at 6-foot-4 during his playing days.

Like Mitchell, Wade played far above his height. He had plenty of big-time slam dunks over centers and forwards, including Kendrick Perkins, Jermaine O'Neal and Anderson Varejao.

Wade also holds the league record for most blocks by a player under 6-4. The only players who come close to Wade's tenacity at his size are Mitchell and Russell Westbrook when he played for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

While Mitchell is the man of the moment, at least Heat fans made sure to remember Wade.

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Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Miami Heat On SI. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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Shandel Richardson
SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star. TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com You can subscribe to our YouTube channel here Follow all of our Miami Heat coverage on Facebook here