The Top 50

#6 - Dwyane Wade

Two summers ago, Dwyane Wade was on top of the World. He had just improbably become the first product of 2003's star-studded Draft class to earn a ring (yes, Darko, I said "earn") by igniting a (somewhat) probable turnaround against the Mavs. His eye-popping, referee-aided acrobatics had made him the undisputed King of South Beach; even the most immovable presence in pro sports was taking a backseat to his shine. My how times change.

Two years later Wade finds himself the pillar of a massive rebuilding effort after the Heat's infastructure collapsed quicker than Shaun Livingston's legs. A lethal concoction of age, complacency and injury crippled a team that sank from Top Cheese to playoff broom fodder to league laughing stock in just 18 months. Dwyane still did his thing, most nights quite literally keeping his team alive by himself. He played as hard as ever, bringing the same board-crashing, floor-diving, kamikaze-into-the-paint mentality to a December contest as he had in the playoffs. Except the postseason was nowhere to be found for the Heat; Wade shut down his aching body in March after it became clear his efforts were all in vain. As quickly as he had risen to the epitome of basketball success, Flash had tumbled past Square One, down to the very basement of the league.

What lies before him may be even more daunting than the 0-2 hole against the Mavs in '06. Dwyane, who recently affirmed his desire to remain in Heat threads for life, is charged with

leading a talented but sceptical trio with a steps-into-the-kiddie-pool shallow supporting cast back to playoff contention under a rookie coach. While Mike Beasley and Shawn Marion are both incredible talents (Marion was far too low on this list at 35), one's an unproven rookie who is, obvious skills aside, a high-risk player, while the other could soon find himself in the same role that drove him off his rocker in Phoenix. Wade himself is enough of a question mark: he's missed 31 games each of the past two seasons and though he looked like his old self Beijing, this team is finished without him.

The Heat could really finish anywhere in the East from 6th or 7th downward this year; they're a serious wild card. Whether they're returning to relevance or praying for Ricky Rubio to solve their point guard issues, you know what you're gonna get from Dwyane Wade. Barring the fracture or removal of two limbs, he'll be busting his fucking ass and putting up MVP-worthy numbers. It's a long road back to the championship, a glory Wade basked in such a short time ago, but given what he's already accomplished in such a short time, who am I to doubt him?