Ranking the Top 10 Highlights of Dwyane Wade's Season

The Miami Heat's season (the regular season, anyways) is winding down to a close. And that, unfortunately, means that another chapter in Dwyane Wade's great career is coming to an end.

Wade has been terrific this season. He's averaging 21.5 points and 4.8 assists per game on 54 percent true shooting, earning himself another All-Star appearance in the process. He's had to bear a huge offensive load due to injuries and has done a great job of it.

He creates highlights on close to a nightly basis, but some of his plays this year have risen above the rest. Let's take a look at the truly spectacular assists, slams, blocks and other highlights of Wade's 2014-15 season.

No. 10: Half-Court Hijinks

Game: Miami Heat vs. Sacramento Kings, March 7—114-109, Miami

This is an easy pick for No. 10 since the shot technically didn't count, but...my god was this a cool moment.

It isn't the made basket that's great so much as it is the reaction of both Wade and Heat fans when it goes down. The crowd goes bonkers, while Wade does his best Gladiator impression.

He was really cooking at this point in the game, and this shot just went to reinforce the fact that there was absolutely no way he was letting the Kings walk away with a win.

Also worth mentioning is the job he did contesting Ben McLemore's corner three on the possession prior to his shot. It looked like the Kings had set up a great spot-up look, but Wade delivered a tremendous close-out.

No. 9: That Was (Probably Not) Intentional

Game: Miami Heat vs. Charlotte Hornets, April 7—105-100, Miami

This might be the most entertaining play of the Heat's season, if only because it's clearly a total accident.

Wade and LeBron James made a living off these half-court alley-oops during the "Big Three" era. Wade is typically so good at them that it's almost shocking that he misses James Ennis on this one. Fortunately, Udonis Haslem does a great job of running the floor and picks up the (surprisingly impressive) slam.

You have to feel for Charlotte a little here. The team actually does a decent job getting back in transition, only to watch a poor pass rebound directly to the one Miami player standing in a crowd of Hornets.

No. 8: Behind-the-Back Save

Game: Miami Heat vs. Cleveland Cavaliers, March 16—106-92, Miami

No, this pass doesn't actually lead to points, but it's impressive nonetheless.

Very rarely do these desperate "save the ball from going out of bounds" passes actually go to their intended targets. Wade's hits Goran Dragic perfectly in stride, and it was a behind-the-back pass.

Those are tough for many players when they're in total control of their dribble, let alone when they're teetering out of bounds just trying to get the ball.

No. 7: Nikola Pekovic Tries His Best

Game: Miami Heat vs. Minnesota Timberwolves, Nov. 8—102-92, Miami

This is vintage Wade.

Back in the mid-2000s, the Heat did little offensively but run him through endless strings of pick-and-rolls. And as simple as that sounds, it was a nightmare for teams to defend because of his preternatural combination of athleticism and patience.

If defenses dropped back on screens, Wade would simply blow by bigs en route to the hoop. If they tried to blitz him, he'd beat them with passes to the open man. And if they simply tried to push up a little more aggressively, as is the case here, he'd split the double team for an easy score.

Just watch how he staples Nikola Pekovic to the ground with a right-to-left crossover. What are the Timberwolves supposed to do?

No. 6: Corner-to-Corner Passing

Game: Miami Heat vs. Detroit Pistons, March 29—109-102, Miami

Over the years, Wade has developed more of a reputation as a huge scorer than anything else. But every now and then, he'll make a pass that reminds you what a killer distributor he is.

This pass to Mario Chalmers is just absurd. Spencer Dinwiddie is all over Wade—the fact that he can even see Chalmers cut to the corner is surprising. Passes like this are almost unfair because they're essentially unguardable. Defenses simply can't afford to post a defender in the far corner when the ball is seemingly trapped on the other end.

What's really crazy is how Wade has to throw this pass. Dinwiddie is giving him so little space that Wade is forced to toss it with a weird, sideways motion. And he somehow still gets it across the court.

No. 5: Dwyane Wade Is More Athletic Than Kevin Love

Game: Miami Heat vs. Cleveland Cavaliers, Dec. 25—101-91, Miami

Wade has always been a very good defender. And if there's one thing that's set him apart from other guards on that end, it's his shot-blocking.

Wade is arguably the best shot-blocking guard ever. He's racked up 714 blocks over the course of his career, good for fifth all-time among guards. However, of those top five players, he has by far the best block rate at an even two percent—the next highest is Ron Harper at 1.5 percent.

For a guy who stands at only 6'4", Wade is a vicious weak-side help defender, as he proves to Kevin Love here. Funnily enough, this is only the second-most embarrassing thing to happen to Love in this game. But we'll get to that later.

No. 4: Joel Anthony Gets Dunked on

Game: Miami Heat at Detroit Pistons, April 4—99-98, Detroit

Wade and Joel Anthony teamed up for some great moments when they were together on the Heat (from 2007-2014), so it's only fitting that he's a part of one of Wade's best plays of the year.

Forcing ball-handlers toward the baseline (and, thus, toward helping bigs) is pretty standard defensive fare. But Wade is not the player you want to do that to. When he gets to the rim, bad things happen to defenses.

And, as Anthony learned here, Wade is still more than explosive enough to throw down on any bigs unfortunate enough to be waiting for him under the basket.

No. 3: No Look, No Problem

Game: Miami Heat vs. Detroit Pistons, March 29—109-102, Miami

This play was the crown jewel of a 40-point outburst in which Wade torched the Pistons in every way imaginable.

Wade is shooting a sizzling 69 percent at the rim this season, but even by his standards, this is ridiculous.

If you watch closely, he has maybe a split second to look at the rim before flying by Andre Drummond and flinging the ball over his head. And he somehow still finishes the play—even after Drummond swipes at him as he's putting up the shot.

And nearly just as impressive as the finish is how Wade gets to the basket. What he's lost in speed over the years, he's more than made up for in skill. The stutter-step, hesitation-dribble combination that he uses to dust Tayshaun Prince is lethal.

No. 2: Dagger vs. Portland Trail Blazers

Game: Miami Heat vs. Portland Trail Blazers, March 18—108-104, Miami

No Wade highlight reel would be complete without at least one game-winning shot. So here it is.

Maybe the best thing about this shot is just how inevitable it felt in real time. Wade subbed in at the 6:59 mark in the fourth quarter, with the Heat clinging to a narrow 91-88 lead. He then proceeded to demolish the Portland Trail Blazers defense with a barrage of driving runners, layups and pull-up jumpers.

He scored 15 of Miami's final 17 points, looking so dominant that it never once really felt like Portland was going to take the game. It was like seeing 2008-09 Wade all over again.

Part of what makes him so fun to watch, especially in the pick-and-roll, is his willingness to use all of the court to create space. So many players only go north-south after turning the corner on screens. Wade is not one of them.

Here, he fakes out Robin Lopez by crossing over left and heading toward the corner. Lopez drops back to defend the drive (and the Hassan Whiteside roll), giving Wade just enough room for a fadeaway dagger.

No. 1: Poor Kevin Love

Game: Miami Heat vs. Cleveland Cavaliers, Dec. 25—101-91, Miami

There's something poetic about Wade putting one of LeBron's new superstar teammates on a poster.

Like with the game-winner against Portland, you could see something like this coming before it happened. Wade is clearly gearing up for an offensive rebound when he loops around toward the key. But even the biggest of Wade fans probably didn't expect a slam quite like this one.

This is the springiest that Wade has looked in years. He almost ends up sitting on Love's shoulder here. Love may not be the biggest leaper, but that's still awfully impressive.

Obviously, one play isn't indicative of all that much. But if Wade still has this kind of athleticism in the tank, he may have many more effective seasons to come.

All statistics accurate as of April 9, 2015 and courtesy of NBA.com/Stats or Basketball-Reference.com unless stated otherwise.