Reliving Dwyane Wade’s Miami Heat career
By Cory Sanning
Comeback season and Consecutive First Round Exits
Entering the summer following the 2007-08 season, Wade and the trainers would go to work. After undergoing months of therapy and rehab on his left knee, Wade would join the United States in the Beijing Olympics, where he would lead the team in scoring and help the U.S. reclaim the gold medal.
Looking as spry and healthy as ever, Wade returned to Heat for the start if the 2008-09 season, and would embark on the greatest 82-game campaign of his career.
Over a career-high 79 games played, Wade would average 30.2 points, 7.5 assists, 5.0 rebounds, 2.2 steals and 1.3 blocks per game, while putting together a string of memorable moments. Remember that one-foot game-winning three pointer against the Bulls? When Wade stripped John Salmons, ran the length of the floor and hit the winning shot from beyond the arc as the buzzer sounded? Nothing quite like the adrenaline rush you get from a scene like that.
How about his 55 point masterpiece against the New York Knicks? Crazy to think that a 6’4 shooting guard without a reliable three-point shot could put up 50 through three quarters
During the season, Wade became just the fifth player in NBA history to reach 2,000 points, 500 assists and 150 steals. He also had higher point, assist, steal and block averages than both Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, both of whom finished ahead of Wade in the MVP race that year. Heading into the postseason, the Heat would claim the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference after winning 43 total games on the season.
Despite Wade averaging 29.1 points, 5.3 assists and 5.0 rebounds over seven games(including a 41 point game in Game 6,) the Heat would fall to the Atlanta Hawks.
The 2009-10 season would include more of the same dominance, as Wade appeared in 77 games and averaged 26.6 points, 6.5 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 1.8 steals as he hit many career milestones.
In just the third game of the season, Wade recorded his 10,000th career point in a win over his hometown Chicago Bulls. In an early season game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Wade threw down a nasty, spectacular dunk over Anderson Varejao, still considered his greatest to this day.
Wade would also claim his first All Star MVP award, recording 28 points, 11 assists, 6 rebounds and 5 steals in the game as the East overcame the West.
The Heat would finish the season with a 47-35 record, good enough once again for the fifth seed in the East.
In the first round against the eventual Eastern conference champion Boston Celtics, Wade recorded a career-high 46 points facing elimination in Game 4 at home, outscoring the entire Celtics team in the fourth quarter 19-15. Despite a herculean effort of 33.2 points, 6.8 assists and 5.6 rebounds per game on 56 percent shooting, the Heat would fall to Boston in five games, setting the stage up for one of the craziest summers ever.
Next: The Big 3 Era