10 Feet High

LeBron James is considered by many to be the best player in the game. Kobe Bryant is often deemed the best closer. Neither is the MVP.

That award goes to Miami Heat guard Dwayne Wade, or “Flash,” as he is appropriately nicknamed. The NBA’s leading scorer came into this season fresh off a wonderful summer with the U.S. Olympic Team, in which he led the squad with 16 points per game. He supplied the jolt of energy and brilliance the Americans had lacked since they were embarrassed at both the 2002 World Championships and the 2004 Athens Olympics.

What is perhaps most amazing about Wade is that he managed to go from NBA elite and Finals MVP to just another good player after a dreadful knee injury in 2008 and back to the top again.

In doing so, Wade will fill an arena, hit a game-winner en route to scoring 40, guard the other team’s best player --- he is a lock for all-defensive team --- and then strut out of the arena with the best suit and coolest-looking diamond earring on the entire Eastern Seaboard. On a team that features no other All-Stars, or even stars for that matter, and a rookie head coach, Wade guided the Heat to the fifth seed in a much-improved Eastern Conference, respectably behind far more complete teams like Boston, Cleveland and Orlando.

The former Marquette star has taken on the role as key playmaker, best defender, and of course, clutch scorer for the pride of South Beach. Despite playing with a rookie point guard in Mario Chalmers, enduring a major trade that sent Shawn Marion to Toronto for Jermaine O’Neal, and the disappointing rookie season of No. 2 overall pick Michael Beasley, Wade has proved to be the be all and end all for the Heat.

His tutelage of Chalmers has seen the youngster develop much faster than the typical late-first rounder, and late in games Wade assumes the role of point guard seamlessly, having no problem distributing the ball (7.5 assists per game). Wade has the ability to average 40 a night. But that’s not what he is about.

In the disappointing season of 2008, Wade played just 51 games, and the Heat were an awful 15-67. But with a healthy Flash, Miami has risen from the depths of the east to finish a respectable 43-39, and has a legitimate shot to defeat Atlanta in the first round. It's a far cry from just one season ago, which begs the question: what would this team be without their superstar?

Their second-best player is either O’Neal or Udonis Haslem, neither of whom has averaged over 14 points since O’Neal did it in 2006. Unlike LeBron and Kobe, who have superior supporting casts, Wade shoulders a far greater responsibility on a game-by-game basis. His team features a mixture of very young talent along with expiring contracts of two big guys (see O’Neal and Mark Blount), who are way past their prime.

Before you rule out the MVP caliber season of Wade, consider the quality of teams both the Lakers and Cavs are without their main guns. LA features the wondrously talented All-Star Pau Gasol and immensely improved Andrew Bynum in its frontcourt, along with one of the league’s most versatile players in Lamar Odom. Cleveland has point guard Mo Williams, underrated despite being an All-Star, who relieves much of the ball-handling responsibilities from James, as well as a legit 7-foot center in Zydrunas Ilgauskas and two nice young guards in Daniel Gibson and Delonte West. The Cavs would undeniably be in the playoffs without James, and one could certainly make the case that the Lakers could even win a series or two without Bryant.

But Miami without Dwayne Wade? We saw exactly how that script played out when Flash missed 31 games last season and the Heat stumbled to the worst record in the NBA. The bottom line is that all three players are sensational and great building blocks for any franchise. But in averaging more than 30 points along with almost eight assists and five rebounds, nearly 1.5 blocks to lead all guards, and 2.2 steals (second in the league), he has led this otherwise ordinary Heat team to a winning record and playoff opportunity.

Dwayne Wade is the true MVP of this NBA season.