DC Metro Sports - The Top 54 Reasons Why I Love Dwyane Wade

1. He makes everything look ridiculously easy: Who was the last person to average the ‘almost triple double’ in the playoffs and do it without breaking a sweat? (Note: this is not to be confused with the Human Triple-Double: Jason Kidd, who, even at this age, controls the pace of the game as well as anyone in the league). If you ever watch a slow motion replay of one of Wade’s layups, your jaw will drop at the number of times he’s forced to twist and turn in the air, all while avoiding three defenders coming at him and yet there’s never any doubt that the ball is going to find the bottom of the net.

On top of that, he does it all without the bling and the glamour that we’re used to seeing from the NBA nowadays. When he throws that little lob to Shaq in the post, he genuinely looks more interested about winning then seeing that play in SportsCenter’s Top Ten plays later that night. And that is very refreshing.

2. He’s 24 and has a nickname: Now I understand that his name “Flash” was bestowed upon him when Shaq came to town, and it’s not really fair to just be given a nickname… but at the same time, the name “Flash” doesn’t fit him at all. Sure, he’s lightening quick, but Wade has the strength of the Hulk, the toughness of Wolverine, the agility of Spiderman and the brains of Batman. Really, he’s like the melting pot of every great Superhero ever. Oh and I used to read comic books as a kid. Really, he does so much that I think we should just start calling him Jack Bauer.

3. He’s the best on ball defender whose a threat offensively in the NBA: He’s not a better defender than a guy like Bruce Bowen, but he’ll make you work the whole 94 feet which is something very rare in the league today. Did you see the way he pickpocketed Jefferson in the 3^rd quarter and then cruised in for an easy layup? Well, for the next five minutes, Jefferson just disappeared on the offensive end. As long as Wade was in the area, Jefferson had NO interest in making any risky moves with the ball. It wasn’t until Wade started switching on Kidd that Jefferson made an effort to try and score again.

4. That he’s this good is a surprise: When LeBron entered the league, we all expected this of him. He was “the Chosen One”. He had to score like Bird and pass like Magic and somehow drive a team full of underachievers and rejects to the playoffs. Now that LeBron’s actually doing just that, we don’t act surprised or impressed, because this is the least that we expected of him. If LeBron doesn’t have two championships in the next six years, he could be considered a bust.

But Wade is different. He was a great college player, but in that draft class we never put him on ‘Melo’s level. We were all expecting a ‘Melo/LeBron video game in the next five years. Wade was supposed to be just a nice permimeter player who could come in and probably start for the Heat. Now? Wade could turn out to be better than any of them.

Yes you heard me correctly. He makes it easy for an aging Shaq to gracefully ride out into the sunset. He’s carrying bounced around veterans like Gary Payton and Antoine Walker on his back – and he’s only a year older than I am (that is the single most depressing thought about watching the NBA nowadays). He is the player that most resembles Michael Jordan – the way he drains mid range jumpers all day, the way he attacks the rim, the way he controls the game in the crunch, the way he’ll lock down the other teams star and the way the only emotion he shows on the court is the slight smile he gives when he gets to the free throw line. Yes, he is that good.

To be continued…

Chris DiIonno only has 24 reasons why he loves LeBron James. He can be reached at .

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