NBA: 2000s All-Decade second team

Second Team: G –  Dwyane Wade:

2000s Resume: Six seasons, one NBA title, one NBA Finals MVP award, one-time All-NBA First Team, two-time All-NBA Second Team, one-time All-NBA Third Team, two-time NBA All-Defensive Second Team, one-time NBA leader in scoring, five-time NBA All-Star, 25.0 PPG, 6.7 APG and 4.8 RPG, 24.8 average PER

Three years into his NBA career, Dwyane Wade became an NBA champion. But unlike so many other young players who win a title early in their careers, Wade wasn’t just along for the ride; he was the one putting the pedal to the metal, driving the 2006 Miami Heat to the franchise’s first championship at breakneck speeds. Though Shaquille O’Neal played a huge part in that title run, and though Wade wouldn’t return to the NBA’s center stage until he joined forces with LeBron James and Chris Bosh in 2010-11, Wade quickly proved himself as one of the decade’s premier talents.

If Wade’s rookie season wasn’t enough, Flash showed what he was all about with a game-winning shot in his very first playoff game. After the Dallas Mavericks amassed a 2-0 series lead in the 2006 NBA Finals, Wade turned the switch to “unstoppable” and scored 42, 36, 43 and 36 points in the next four games, all victories. Wade suffered through some knee injuries during the 2000s, but it didn’t take long for him to put his name among the all-time great shooting guards.

Wade would have climbed into the First Team had two of his three championships not come in the second decade of the 2000s. D-Wade had to adjust to his role of Robin to LeBron’s Batman, but for his first six seasons in Miami, Wade was undoubtedly the Dark Knight in charge. He attacked the rim relentlessly, used his athleticism to burn his defenders and led the league in scoring for the 2008-09 season. LeBron was the alpha dog during his time in South Beach, but Dwyane Wade is still the greatest player in Heat franchise history.