Dwyane Wade: The Making of a Hall of Famer

Even before the first national semifinal game of the 2003 Final Four, Dwyane Wade was a relatively well-known figure across the college basketball landscape.

He was named to the Associated Press All-American first team in his final two seasons and was an inferno through the first four games of the aforementioned NCAA tournament, posting 22.5 PPG, 6.8 RPG and 6.5 APG a contest.  

During that same broadcast, both casual and dedicated fans alike were introduced to the quiet, mild-mannered star from Illinois. Marquette had not been to the Final Four since 1977 when the team was commanded by the late, great Al McGuire.

Although the final score was not one Marquette fans choose to remember, the foundation was being laid for a certain Hall of Fame inductee.

Breaking Through: Year One

Wade was selected fifth overall in the 2003 NBA Draft, namely behind LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and another guy whose name slips my memory at the moment.

While it is hard to fathom now, Wade was a relative role-player in his first campaign with the Miami Heat. Alongside Lamar Odom and Caron Butler, the Heat electrified the fans of South Florida with effort and unmistakable competitiveness.

Certainly you remember the game-winning penetration to the basket against the New Orleans Hornets that left Baron Davis out of place as Wade floated home the final basket.  

The following season Wade increased his point total to 24.1 PPG, while handing out 6.8 APG. Those totals led the Heat to a 17-game overall improvement over Wade’s rookie season and earned him the nickname "Flash," affectionately given to him by Shaquille O’Neal.

The campaign saw Wade make his first All-Star appearance as a reserve and culminated in an Eastern Conference Finals appearance. While the Heat would fall short to the Detroit Pistons, Wade was firmly on the map to superstardom.

Early Success: 2006 NBA Champion

After a good summer by big man standards, a more slimmed down and agile O'Neal gave the league every indication that the Heat were poised to make waves in the 2005-2006 season.

The run was magical almost from the start and propelled Wade into most everyone's list of top 10 NBA performers. With Diesel anchoring the middle, Wade took over the role Kobe Bryant assumed to help the Los Angeles Lakers capture three consecutive titles from 2000-2002. 

For his part, Wade gave the Heat more than 27 PPG while guiding the Eastern Conference champions to 52 regular-season wins and a spot in the NBA Finals.

That spot in the 2006 Finals is one no NBA fan will soon forget. Besides the numbers that Wade offered up to the Dallas defense, the view from any HD screen made the eye test more of a poorly-developed quiz.

Wade gave the Heat 33.8 PPG while attempting 97 free throws in six games. He offered the fans enough entertainment value to propel him to the summit of his NBA career in just his third season as a professional.

Adversity: Then Came the Injuries

As most storybook beginnings would have it, Wade found adversity just around the corner from his first NBA title. With his image firmly planted in the minds of all who witnessed his virtuoso performance against the Mavericks, erosion set in faster than a Hemi-powered truck burns through a tank of gas.

The Heat's main attraction missed 31 games in the 2006-2007 season and suffered from a myriad of injuries, the most serious of which being a dislocated left shoulder. The injury effectively derailed the defending champs' chances of repeating the run to NBA supremacy.

The Heat were swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Chicago Bulls.

At the end of the season, Wade went under the knife.

Doubters: The Nay-Sayers Lined Up

The memory of a championship oftentimes lasts less than a full calendar year in professional sports. Fans are in search of the latest in almost all arenas of entertainment, and the NBA is no different.

Wade started the 2007-2008 campaign in a sport coat as he nursed injuries to both his surgically-repaired shoulder and his surgically-repaired left knee.

As the season progressed the doubters began calling the South Side Chicago native terms that relate most closely to moist paper as the team won only nine of its first 46 games.

Wade missed 31 more games, matching his previous season's total. When Wade was on the court, the numbers were atypical, but the team performed poorly; the front office dismissed Shaq to the Phoenix Suns and ultimately missed the playoffs.

Wade would find his consistency again, thanks in larger part to USA Basketball.

So Easily We Forget

Fortunately some NBA players still operate with figurative chips on both shoulders.

Wade stated many times over the summer of 2008 that he was looking to silence the idea that he was not the newest version of the injury-riddled should have been.

Wade took his game to a new level, posting a career-high of 30.2 PPG and making nearly half of his attempts from the field.

During that season, Wade eclipsed the 40-point mark more than a dozen times, to include one outing of 50 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists against the Utah Jazz.

In typical ride-the-wave fashion, the Wade Bandwagon began accepting passengers again—who could blame those paying customers?

The Horizon

If the NBA does come back to reality and delivers a 2011-2012 season, what can the fans expect from the 29-year-old star who is squarely in his prime, and playing with LeBron James and Chris Bosh?

Over the last couple days, a few resident experts have reshuffled their top NBA players to resemble something even I cannot help but laugh at. Still, Wade is competing amongst the top, and has been since he walked onto an NBA court eight years ago.

Legacy-building always revolves around championships. With one already in the pocket, Wade can never be anchored with the Karl Malone moniker. In the same breath, he cannot sit at the table of legends with so little ice collected.

When the Heat take the floor again, one can safely assume the weight of expectations will follow. If this was Las Vegas, my chips would be on a least two celebrations somewhere near South Beach in the coming years.