Wesley Matthews vs. Dwyane Wade
Wesley Matthews and Dwyane Wade both call Marquette their alma mater. But that’s about where the similarity ends in their career paths to becoming the starting shooting guards for two of the NBA’s best teams this season. After a two-year college career capped by an AP All-American nomination in 2002-03, Wade was called to the podium with the fifth overall pick in the star-studded 2003 NBA Draft. Now a nine-time All-Star, Wade held a starting role from day one and has been a member of the Heat for his entire career – one that includes three NBA Championships. After completing his four-year career at Marquette, Matthews didn’t hear his name called on draft night in 2009. He signed with the Jazz during training camp, worked his way onto the regular season roster and then into the starting lineup that same season. Following Utah’s second-round playoff exit, the Trail Blazers signed Matthews to a long-term contract that assured his career rise would take place in Rip City. Ever since that 2010 offseason, Matthews has made a whopping 527 3-pointers, good for third-most in the NBA trailing only Ryan Anderson and Stephen Curry. Wade is averaging 20 points or more for the 10th consecutive season, and doing so while shooting better than 50% from the field, putting him in territory shared by only Blake Griffin, Brook Lopez and teammate LeBron James this season.
Wesley Matthews
• Ranks sixth in the NBA in 3-pointers made (75) and 16th in 3-point shooting percentage (43.6%) this season
• His 527 3-pointers since joining the Trail Blazers for the 2010-11 season are third-most in the NBA during that time
• Averaging career highs this year in scoring (16.3) and rebounding (4.3)
Dwyane Wade
• Ranks ninth in the NBA in field goal shooting percentage (54.7%) and fifth in steals (2.10) this season
• His 678 career blocks are the most by any guard 6’4” or shorter in NBA history
• Scored at least 20 points and shot better than 50% from the field in each of his last five games (Dec. 14-25)