Miami Heat G Dwyane Wade blames knee pain on his college surgery

It’s no secret that Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade’s knees are getting worse and worse. Once, Wade was one of the league’s most explosive players and although he is still a legitimate NBA all-star, he’s certainly not that kind of player any more.

Last season, Wade missed 13 games and during the 2011-12 season, he missed 33 games. He’s also seen his scoring average of 30.2 points per game in the 2008-09 season drop to 21.2 points per game last season. Obviously, the additions of forward LeBron James and big man Chris Bosh are a big reason for the scoring drop-off, but Wade still managed to average 25.5 points per game during the 2010-11 season, the trio’s first season playing together.

Wade won’t deny that his knees aren’t what they used to be, but doesn’t think the NBA grind is what’s hurt him. Instead, he thinks the problem started when he had surgery to remove the meniscus from his left knee when he was at Marquette.

“My knee problems and the things I’ve dealt with started from that,” Wade told Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. “That was [11] years ago and technology was different and the way you approach things was different.

“At that moment, if everyone looked ahead and said, ‘Dwyane’s going to have a 20-year career, maybe we should do something different,’ maybe I wouldn’t have [knee issues]. At that time it was to get me back on the basketball court and do what is best.”

Despite his knee issues, all reports have indicated that Wade showed up to camp in fantastic shape.