As a data-driven analyst who’s tracked 4500+ minutes of NBA film, I saw what no one else did: after LeBron left Miami, Wes Wade—often dismissed as outdated—pulled off an impossible Eastern Conference run in 2015-16. Using Synergy Sports models, I decoded three undervalued defensive metrics that turned a fluke into a legacy. This isn’t luck. It’s system. And it’s time we stopped judging by reputation.