Dwyane Tyrone Wade, Jr. (born January 17, 1982) is an American basketball player who currently plays for the Miami Heat in the National Basketball Association (NBA). His nicknames include "Flash" and "D-Wade". Wade was named 2006 Sportsman of the Year by Sports Illustrated. Despite the unorthodox spelling, Wade's first name is pronounced as Dwayne; often in print media, it is misspelled as such. Wade has established himself as one of the more well-known and popular players in the league. He had the top selling jersey in the NBA for nearly two years, as he led the NBA in jersey sales from the 2005 NBA playoffs, until the mid-point of the 2006-07 NBA season.
After entering the league with little fanfare as the fifth pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, Wade has become one of the more accomplished young players in the NBA today. After making the All-Rookie team in his first season, and the All-Star team the following two seasons, Wade led the Miami Heat to their first NBA Championship in franchise history in his third pro campaign. He was named the 2006 NBA Finals MVP as he led the Heat to a 4–2 series win over the Dallas Mavericks.
