{"id":237787,"date":"2026-07-07T20:25:07","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T20:25:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/237787\/"},"modified":"2026-07-07T20:25:07","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T20:25:07","slug":"new-sixers-forward-dean-wade-embraces-thankless-job-on-defense-nbc10-philadelphia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/237787\/","title":{"rendered":"New Sixers forward Dean Wade embraces \u2018thankless job\u2019 on defense \u2013 NBC10 Philadelphia"},"content":{"rendered":"

Before all the drama surrounding the Sixers\u2019 trade for Jaylen Brown<\/a>, the team’s biggest additions of the summer were rookie Labaron Philon Jr.<\/a> and Dean Wade. <\/p>\n

Wade, who\u2019s signed a four-year, $39 million contract with the Sixers<\/a>, knows he\u2019s not a remotely comparable player to Brown. He\u2019s a self-aware, 29-year-old forward with a simple offensive game and an intense defensive focus.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s going to be a bunch of open space and I think that\u2019s kind of where I do my best, just giving (Tyrese) Maxey, Jaylen Brown and all those guys space to operate,\u201d Wade said in a Zoom media availability Tuesday. \u201cIf they kick it out, I\u2019ll shoot the (three-pointer) once or twice. And then on the defensive end, just do what I\u2019ve always done. Play hard and be a switchable, versatile defender.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wade spent his first seven NBA seasons with the Cavaliers, working his way up from undrafted two-way contract player to key rotation piece.<\/a> Sixers president of basketball operations Mike Gansey<\/a> was in Cleveland\u2019s front office for his rise. <\/p>\n

The Kansas State product averaged 5.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.5 assists last season in 22.3 minutes per game. Much of his offense came from three-point range, where Wade shot 36.2 percent on 3.3 attempts per contest. <\/p>\n

Wade\u2019s value stems largely from his defense on a variety of stars. As he figured out NBA life, Wade realized defensive solidity was a clear path to playing time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s kind of a thankless job, being a defender, but it\u2019s one of the most important things you can do,\u201d he said. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to go out there and guard the best players, even if it\u2019s not your position. In the playoffs I was guarding point guards, I was guarding forwards, I was guarding kind of everybody.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve just got to take pride, have that chip on your shoulder, and go out there and compete every game. \u2026 Everybody in the NBA is so skilled and has so much athleticism. I think that extra competitive edge, it gives people another little step. I just try to go out there every game and compete at the highest level.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wade is fine with defense often being overlooked and unglamorous.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody really enjoys playing defense,\u201d he said. \u201cEveryone wants to play offense and score, be part of it on that end. But I think the most appealing part of defense is when people iso, 1-on-1. It\u2019s head up and just, \u2018Who\u2019s better?\u2019 I\u2019ve got that little chip on my shoulder. I love that competitive spirit where it\u2019s just whose will is going to outlast (the other\u2019s)?\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that\u2019s where I enjoy the defensive part. \u2026 You don\u2019t want to let any of your teammates down. You know how important you are on the defensive end. You\u2019ve got to do your job so everybody else can do their job.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even elite NBA defenders have many moments where their efforts are futile. And although the game can boil down to 1-on-1 battles, there\u2019s often defensive subtleties that are nearly impossible for non-players to grasp. On top of all the on-ball responsibilites, the Sixers will ask Wade to make precise rotations, adhere to game plan details and generally stay sharp off the ball.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If he checks those boxes and helps the star-heavy Sixers<\/a> go deep in the playoffs, Wade envisions a fun time on his second team. <\/p>\n

Former teammate Georges Niang<\/a> gave him an idea of what to expect in Philadelphia.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been tough, but it\u2019s been awesome meeting people and seeing the support they\u2019ve given me,\u201d Wade said. \u201cWhat I know about Philly \u2026 Georges Niang, he was on the Cavs a couple of years ago and he was in Philly. Maybe the funniest human I\u2019ve ever met, first off. But he (told me) Philly fans are diehards. They might get on you a few games here and there if you\u2019re not doing what you\u2019re supposed to be doing. But overall, it\u2019s a sports city.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cGeorges says it\u2019s the best fans in the world as long as you\u2019re playing the right way. I take pride in playing the right way and I\u2019m excited, man. Playing in front of the Philly fans when I was in Cleveland, they\u2019re always loud, they\u2019re always bringing energy. It\u2019s something I can appreciate, man. I love playing in those atmospheres and being the home team in those atmospheres, it\u2019s got to be great. So I\u2019m ready and I\u2019m excited about that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Before all the drama surrounding the Sixers\u2019 trade for Jaylen Brown, the team’s biggest additions of the summer…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":237788,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[4794,69,1002,71,70,10793,10794],"class_list":["post-237787","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia","tag-nba","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-76ers","tag-philadelphia-headlines","tag-philadelphia-news","tag-sixers-analysis","tag-sixers-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237787","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=237787"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237787\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/237788"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=237787"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=237787"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=237787"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}