NBA

Durant’s right: Wade doesn’t deserve spot in top 10

NBA fans, be sure to circle Jan. 29 on your calendars, the night when Oklahoma City and Miami face each other for the first time this season.

It’s clear Dwyane Wade already has.

After Kevin Durant said in a promotional interview that he felt James Harden, his friend and former teammate in Oklahoma City, should replace Wade in the top 10 of SI.com’s Top 100 players in the NBA, Wade took to Instagram Tuesday night to show he was paying attention.

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Don't believe me just watch

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Later that night, Durant had his own response, tweeting: “Show me don’t tweet me.”

Wade is clearly motivated to prove he is still one of the league’s elite players after struggling with knee issues throughout the Heat’s run to the 2013 title. However, I would tend to agree with Durant’s decision to flip Harden, who finished 11th, with Wade at No. 8.

Yes, Wade won a title with the Heat last season, while Harden’s Rockets exited in a first-round loss to Durant’s Thunder. And Wade was also a key member of the Miami squad that beat Harden and Durant’s Thunder team in the NBA Finals in 2012. Both players finished last season as third-team All-NBA selections, but Harden averaged just under 26 points and six assists a game while carrying the Rockets to the playoffs in the loaded Western Conference.

Plus, Wade is nearly eight years older than Harden and is coming off of an injury-riddled playoffs. Harden is healthy and now has Dwight Howard playing alongside him in Houston. Looking for a reason to lean one way or the other, I’ll take the younger, healthier guy.

Either way, that first meeting of the season between Durant and Wade — as well as the two matchups between Harden and Wade in March — should be awfully fun to watch.