No ’Flash’ in the pan: Why Miami’s Dwyane Wade is still a superstar like Kobe Bryant and LeBron JamesJuly 15 08  Twenty-four months ago, Miami celebrated the Heat’s 2006 championship. Coach Pat Riley danced and Shaquille O’Neal rapped. Quietly, superstar Dwyane Wade enjoyed the party, knowing his playoff was the stuff of a basketball god. Two years later, Riley is done coaching. Shaq is still rapping, only now he’s asking Kobe Bryant to sample his buttocks. And Wade is still quiet, except the league he once dominated is talking about him being mortal. Some believe ‘Flash’ is no longer a superstar like Kobe, LeBron or even CP3. Sure, injuries took a toll, but critics focused on his poor fitness. Of course, in 2007, the Bulls swept the Heat and things bottomed-out last year when his squad was lottery-bound by January. However, the chatter about Wade slipping is premature. Things are looking up in South Beach. Injuries ended Wade’s 2007-08 season five weeks early, giving him extra rest. It looks like he has taken advantage of the time off. At a recent charity game, the guard electrified the crowd by converting several lobs into athletic jams. Playing for Team USA will help. Each day, he’ll practice with eleven other mega-stars and then suit up against the world’s best in China. And the coaching staff will likely preserve Wade for Miami’s regular season by using him as a sixth man. He’s also got new teammates. Marion, if he’s not traded for cap space, should provide athleticism. James Jones is a deep threat, capable of spreading the floor and punishing double-teams, while Michael Beasley has impressed in summer league.
Look for Wade, if healthy, to enoy a rebirth. A second NBA Title is unlikely, but talk of him falling off is flat wrong. Is Wade still a bonafide superstar? Get at us in the comment box below with your thoughts and come back to HoopsVibe The Blog for more NBA news. Photo courtesy of photographer Killbucky’s on-line portfolio.
Posted by
Franchise
on 07.18.2008 | WHO SAID T-MAC AND LEBRON ARE BETTER THAN KOBE? LOL Kobe24Clutch, i think you as well as every other laker fan seriously cannot read... learn how to read and then comment jeez dealin with a bunch of laker idiots here... and the anonymous dude, i dont respond to people that make assumptions about other people. Every superstar has battled through injuries but wade is the first one i’ve seen go through an injury and come back looking like the present day vince carter/leading his team to 15 wins. lik c-mon t-mac has been injured for a decade and hes still managed to win more than 15 games. loser. . | Posted by
on 07.18.2008 | dwade will be healthy this year so consider this his comeback year and he is better than lebron james HE IS A SUPERSTAR . | Posted by
Joseph Mutanta Kibenda
on 07.18.2008 | Hey guys, you surely think Wade is no longer up there. Well let me tell you one thing, D Wade is still one of the worlds best guards and one of nba’s supersters. So please keep your comments to yourselves, You cant blame him for the injuries, he is also human. DWAYNE YOU ARE A SUPERSTER OK..... . | Posted by
Jay from DC
on 07.18.2008 | D-Wade is NOT a superstar. Put Kobe, Bron, TD, KG, Pierce, and Paul on that same Heat team and they are winning more than 16 games even with injuries and the last five weeks off. D-Wade is a star, but not a superstar. . | Posted by
kobe24clutch
on 07.17.2008 | this dude under me... what are u talking about? injuries are part of the game.. why don’t we just say t-mac is the best with all the injuries he’s gone through.. its nobody’s fault but wades that’ he’s been this injured and even without the injuries he’s stil not the best... im not sure who ur talkin to.. if im wrong here im sorry.. if ur tryin to say wade is better then kobe look at the skill by skill comparison i wrote down just a few posts down.. i higlhy doubt there is anythign on there that u can disagree with... . | Posted by
on 07.17.2008 | OMG dude are you mental? Why are you so insecure? I’ve been an AI fan since G-town, but there are injuries, and there are basketball inhibiting injuries. Fool, a bum knee prevents you from elevating. A bad shoulder sucks when you are trying to shoot the ball. Ain’t nobody haten’ on your boyfriend.. My point simply is that Dude was all world before he was... LET’s SAY IT TOGETHER CLASS... INJURED! I bet you’re spending the off season in front of the tv watchin the WNBA, with ugly face and all talking bout; "Sheryl Swoops can’t shoot better than AI!" lol Hater.. . | Posted by
TEMPY
on 07.17.2008 | DWADE IS MY MAN, HEWILL BE A SUPERSTAR AGAIN IN THE NBA NEXT SEASON
HOWEVER HES NOT BETTER THEN KOBE OR LEBRON, NOBODY IS
CANT WAIT FOR THE OLYMPICS USA IS GONNA KILL IT . | Posted by
kobe24clutch
on 07.17.2008 | franchise are u saying t-mac and lebron are better then kobe? . | Posted by
Franchise
on 07.17.2008 | kobe24allday, who the hell said wade was better than kobe? in no way shape or form did i say that y dont you learn hou to read before you comment and call people idiots. I was comparing tracy mcgrady to wade and wade to lebron where i both said t-mac and lebron were better. Please learn how to read man dont post shyt that is irrelevant to the whole conversation. . | Posted by
kobe24clutch
on 07.17.2008 | wow idiots... wade is not as good as kobe.. and he is not as good as lebron, is he good? yes... 2nd best shooting gaurd in the nba.. hwo can soem of u guys be this retarded... look here is a skill by skill comparison between kobe and wade.. if u disagree with any of these ur an idiot..shooting:kobe,driving:wade,handling:wade,rebounds:kobe,passing ability:kobe,vision:wade,finishing around the rim: kobe,post-up:kobe,ability to convert difficult shots:kobe,on-ball defense:kobe,inside help defense:wade,dunking;kobe,clutch:Kobe( you can make a case for this one but ask yourself.. ur down by 1 who do u want to shoot?kobe or wade?moving without the ball:kobe,athleticism:kobe,free throws:kobe,descision making:kobe,finishing after contact:kobe, there is barely anything that wade is better then kobe at... silly argument.. is wade a superstar? yes.. but no way si he better then kobe or lebron . | Posted by
Franchise
on 07.17.2008 | KB24alldaway, the only time mcgrady had help going into the playoffs was 06-07 when they faced the jazz. Every time he went to the playoffs excluding that, he had no one. Orlando=Injured grant hill, Kevin Cato? houston=Soft Yao Ming, Bob Sura, Barry, juwan howard? sorry man but t-mac was only favoured to win a series once where his team choked. he still got 31-9 that game 7. get your facts straight before you assume he had help. . | Posted by
Franchise
on 07.17.2008 | Wade’s team that went to the finals had alonzo, shaq, kapono, a decent jason williams, kapono, Posey, Payton and antwon walker. They faced the mavs and won the ring largely in part because wade saw single covrage(shaq). Lebron brang a team with eric snow, larry hughes, anderson varaejao, ira newble, daniel gibson, drew gooden to the finals. The only all star caliber player he had was big Z. He faced the SPURS(who is a harder opponent in the finals than the mavs) and lost. if u asked me lebron had a weak core and still went to the finals let alone push game 7 vs the cavs. Wade took that same core he won the ring with to lose 0-4 against the bulls. So tell me Djay, who is a better player considering these facts? wade, a guy who had shaq(he avg 18-9 dont use that aging excuse) or lebron who’s secondary scorer was daniel gibson (a rookie, 2nd rounder)?I;d go with the latter, . | Posted by
KB24 all da way
on 07.17.2008 | Look at it this way Kobe untill this year for the past few years has had s---like wade has had but kobe still took his team to the playoffs and they were competitave yeah they din’t make it out of the first round but McGrady has never made it out of the first round and he has help. Wade gets put out of injury basically because they were getting embarrased so he didn’t want to play. On the other hand kobe had a fucked up finger that needed surgury but he didn’t pussy around he kept fighting and they made it to the finals and if he had pussied around like him they would have been out first round again. . | Posted by
Djay
on 07.17.2008 | i believe d-wade is better than lebron but he is not better than kobe it’s MJ and Kobe everyone else is at the bottom. Lebron cant win in cleveland wade has a good team with beasley. But Kobe’s team is a title contender for years to come. KB24 all day . | Posted by
mysticrage
on 07.17.2008 | Each one of these players have some type of characteristic that sets them apart from the rest. I am a firm believer that Kobe’s talents are overrated. If I was on a team that consisted of "average" players, I would look good too. This happens to work in his favor. He shines while doing so, as do Lebron and CP3. Just because you have all of these high accolades, that does not mean that you are the greatest there is or ever was. Someone has to get it... In the case of D. Wade, he did right by sitting out to nurse his injury. For those who are true athletes, they know that when you acquire an injury that could end your career prematurely, you have to correct the problem before it gets out of hand. A blown ACL is nothing to play with and those, again, who are true athletes know this. D. Wade is an awesome player and he will continue to grow in his game. Now don’t get it twisted, just because he is soft spoken, does not mean he is soft on the court. D. Wade is one of the best AND he can compete with the best. . | Posted by
ya boi lucas
on 07.17.2008 | Wade is not better than lebron, kobe, or CP3, but, I do believe he is still on their level, maybe not as good, but definitely on their level. Wade has been struck by an injury bug for last few years and seems to be very good at bouncing back. Look for a breakout season by Dwyane this year. Possibly even MVP caliber, YES, I SAID IT! . | Posted by
franchise
on 07.16.2008 | blown acl? buddy iverson had 26 injuries in his career the last time he won under 20 games was his rookie season. Iverson had plenty of injuries excluding his rook season, he carried his team. Wade wasnt even puttin 100% in he was jackin up 3s when he knows hes garbage at em hes no superstar. If youre gonna tell me that a team with wade, shaq can only win 9 games at the all star break while young inexperienced teams in the west(minnesota) are winnin more and wade is still a superstar, theres a problem. . | Posted by
They call me Tony
on 07.16.2008 | I’ll try to use small words because I’m obviously not dealing with mental heavyweights. The greatest to touch a basketball, MJ, was a MERE MORTAL the season he came back from his first retirement, and then ran off 3 straight. D-Wade played on a bum knee with no squad. And need I remind you, he played with the injury because the previous season he opted not to have surgery so that he could come back and help his team in the playoffs. Only an idiot (I’m mean a person who should be expunged from the gene pool), would play the "no excuse" card here. Please, like you’re out there running marathons with a blown a ACL... Losers . | Posted by
franchise
on 07.16.2008 | take this into consideration: the TIMBERWOLVES, KNICKS, GRIZZLIES and the CLIPS(who had a lot of injured guys, in the west) won more games. no excuses . | Posted by
franchise
on 07.16.2008 | in an injured season, wade won 15 games. c-mon he won 9 games b4 the all star break. injured or not, thats just terrible . |
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