So, Dwyane Wade is back, right? He went in and kicked some serious tail at the Olympics and looks to be back to the old Dwyane Wade. The old Wade, remember him? He was the guy for a few days in June of 2006 looked like the closest thing to Michael Jordan we’d ever seen. Dwyane Wade had set himself on a path to being maybe a top 10 talent in NBA history with his performance in the NBA Finals three seasons ago. The he went and got himself hurt. Well, if he’s back, what does that truly mean?
For as good as Dwyane Wade can be when healthy, he wasn’t really that hyped coming out of college. Pat Reily has even said that if Toronto hadn’t taken Chris Bosh with the #4 pick in the 2003 draft, they may have passed on Wade and taken him. Dwyane would prove to be the right pick for Miami when he led the Heat to a playoff series victory in his rookie season. Wade made a statement right away, he was for real.
Everything would change for Wade though the following year. In the summer of 2004 the Lakers traded Shaquille O’Neal to Miami. That took Wade and the Heat from a promising young team to immediate contenders. Though, what was possibly the biggest aspect of the Shaq trade for Wade was that it set him apart. Dwyane Wade was playing in the kind of big games that LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony couldn’t. Wade became not only a superstar because of his athletic ability, but because of his ability to come up huge in the biggest of games.
I already said that Wade was spectacular in his NBA Finals performance against the Mavericks in 2006. Though, as big as that was to Wade and his career, his biggest moment came a year later in a seemingly meaningless game against Houston. Wade would separate his shoulder in that game and despite his mini-comeback in the playoffs, his season was over. After that, things haven’t been the same for Wade.
LeBron James and Kobe Bryant are now the two best players in the NBA. There was a time in which one could argue that Wade was better than either of them. That time is gone. LeBron James has proven to be the best all-around player in the league, while Kobe Bryant has cemented himself as one of the great offensive talents of all time. Wade’s current identity is only truly shared by Penny Hardaway and Grant Hill. He’s supposed to be a once upon a time player. That guy that had all the potential in the world, but then he got hurt. The world of sports is littered with those types of stories. This season becomes Wade’s time of testing.
Well, for all the talk of Wade being back, I’m hoping it’s true. Dwyane Wade, when healthy, is as entertaining to watch as any player in the league. No player in recent memory will have come back from as low of depths as Wade will have if he does truly return to form. This year may not hold many victories for Wade, but if at the end of the season we can say that Wade is back to being a top five talent again, that’s the biggest victory of all. Not only for Dwyane Wade, but for us too.
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