Dwyane Wade Reportedly Undergoes Successful Knee Surgery

Dwyane Wade underwent knee surgery on Monday, taking the first step toward getting healthy as the Miami Heat prepare to defend their 2012 NBA title.

Shandel Richardson of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported the breaking news:

"

Good call by Heat guard Dwyane Wade to have left knee surgery this morning. He expects the rehab to last anywhere ... sulia.com/c/nba-free-age…

— Shandel Richardson(@ShandelRich) July 9, 2012"

After the procedure, a source reportedly told Rachel Nichols of ESPN that the surgery was successful.  

While Americans are surely disappointed that Wade won’t be able to represent Team USA in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Heat fans have to be pumped about Wade’s successful surgery.

According to ESPN, the knee bothered Wade throughout the entire season. It got so bad during the playoffs that he had it drained during the Heat’s second-round playoff series against the Indiana Pacers.

While Wade helped lead Miami to a world championship, you could tell that he just wasn’t the same player, particularly during the postseason. 

Last season, Wade averaged 22.1 points per game in the regular season and 22.6 in the NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Comparatively, he averaged 25.5 points per game during the 2010-11 season and was the team's leading scorer against the Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 NBA Finals with 26.5 points per game.

No one truly knows if the knee alone caused the drop-off, but if it did, Miami could go into the 2012-2013 campaign better than ever.

In 2008, Wade struggled through injuries all season long and finished with an average of 24.6 points per game. After returning to full health over the summer, Wade went on to average a career-high 30.2 points per game the season after. 

Miami fans won’t likely see those totals with LeBron James in the fold, but a similar increase in effectiveness isn’t out of the question.

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