Dwyane Wade’s update on his social media handle could be a pinch of salt to fans of Inside the NBA. Just recently, Kenny Smith lost a free throw shooting contest to Stephen A. Smith, an outcome that most likely no one would have expected. However, in Smith’s defense, he gave SAS an advantage by opting to shoot with his left hand. But this defense now kind of stands shattered after D-Wade’s recent Instagram update.
The Miami Heat icon shared an IG story in which he, too, used his left hand for a shooting contest. And he beat not one but two opponents simultaneously. “Left on ’em,” he captioned his IG story.
Some relief, however, for Kenny Smith fans can be that these opponents were Wade’s wife, Gabrielle Union, and Entrepreneur Deirdre Maloney. And that this matchup was in a gaming arena. While we do not intend to demean Gab’s potential shooting skills, Stephen A. Smith had yet another advantage over his opponent as compared to Gab.
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The 57-year-old ESPN analyst took help with his training from NBA shooting coach Lethal Shooter. However, yet another factor we need to take into consideration is that although Dwyane Wade missed some shots, he made 5 consecutive ones. On the other hand, Kenny made just one basket of his 5 attempts, as compared to Stephen A. Smith’s 3 on 5.
The former Houston Rockets star, however, claimed that it was too big an advantage for him to SAS. “Every head must bow. It was too big a handicap shooting left hand. So if I do it again, I’ll use right hand…,” he said later, speaking to Damian Lillard on Inside the NBA. But seeing Dwyane Wade so efficient with his left-hand shooting, some may wonder now if it was that big of a disadvantage for an ex-NBA athlete against a sports media broadcaster.
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Who wins in a one-on-one contest between Dwyane Wade and Kenny Smith?
At 22 ppg career average against Smith’s 12.8, The Flash visibly surpasses The Jet in the scoring department with the array of moves he had in his arsenal. It isn’t for nothing that a majority opinion considers the Heat icon to be the third best shooting guard ever behind Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.
But Smith, being a point guard, lags behind D-Wade even in the playmaking department. At least that’s what the numbers reflect. The former Houston Rockets star, however, has one up against the 3x NBA champ from Miami when it comes to shooting.
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Surprisingly, though, in terms of field goal shooting, both stars stand exactly leveled up at 48 percent. But when it comes to 3-point shooting percentage and free throw shooting percentage, Smith’s numbers in the two respective departments, 39.9 and 82.9, exceed Dwyane Wade’s 29.3 and 76.5.
So in a one-on-one shooting, Smith has a higher chance of winning, statistically speaking. Even though Wade has a better chance if both stars again go “lefty”.
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Can we still call it a handicap if D-Wade can shoot left-handed better than Kenny Smith?
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Can we still call it a handicap if D-Wade can shoot left-handed better than Kenny Smith?
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