Since his rookie season, Dwyane Wade has been listed as a shooting guard. While that is his nominal position on the court, his actual role was as the Heat's central distributor and scorer -- until LeBron James' talents arrived in South Beach.
For the four seasons that Wade and James played together, Wade's role (though not his position) changed, and he became a general support player while James took over the roles of central distributor and scorer. After James' departure, Wade has returned to his original role, and the numbers tell that story.
Before James, Wade's usage rate was 32 percent (he had a field goal attempt or a turnover on 32 percent of possessions during which he was on the floor) and he averaged 6.3 assists per 36 minutes and 24 points per 36 minutes. While playing with James, Wade's production dropped in all three categories: His usage went down to 29.7 percent, assists were down to 5 per 36 minutes, and scoring was down to 22.9 points per 36 minutes.
Since returning to his previous roles, Wade's production has followed, with an increase in usage to 34 percent, an increase in assists to 6.2 per 36 minutes, and an increase in scoring to 24 points per 36 minutes. Wade's increase in production has him back in the top five scorers and distributors in the league, making him a clear "role star."
Wade is a great example of how, even when positions don't change, the roles a player fills on a court can change dramatically from season to season and team to team. With that in mind, we should compare players not by position but by what they are asked to do on the court -- whether it's one or more of the following four roles. We've categorized them as such here:
1. Scorer
2. Distributor
3. Space creator
4. Defensive paint clogger
So as the second half of the season gets underway, let's define each of these roles and identify who has been most effective in each of them. Here are the 2014-15 "role stars" from the first half of the season.