From unheralded draft pick to the MVP of the 2006 NBA Finals, and now adding “2008 gold medalist” and “2010 All-Star Game MVP” to his list of accomplishments -- Dwyane Wade has experienced a whirlwind career in fewer than six years. Perhaps this might have been expected of a player widely known as “Flash.” In his first season (2003-04), the Chicago-area native who also flashed his athletic brilliance for Marquette University, achieved NBA All-Rookie Team status with the Miami HEAT. Before he knew it, Dwyane was an Olympian, representing the United States in the 2004 Athens Summer Games and recently brought home the GOLD representing the USA in the 2008 Olympics set in Beijing. Dwyane joined the HEAT as the fifth pick of the 2003 NBA Draft. In 63 games, Dwyane averaged a solid 16.2 points in 35 minutes per game, and was one of the reasons the HEAT emerged as an unlikely #4 seed in the 2004 playoffs. In 2006, Dwyane led his team to the city’s first ever NBA Championship. The rest is history!

With a similar meteoric rise in college, Dwyane catapulted Marquette to the 2003 Final Four. In two years at Marquette he became one of the most decorated players in school history where he averaged 19.7 points per game, had 150 steals and 79 blocked shots. That was upstaged only by Dwyane’s history making NCAA Tournament triple-double (against No. 1 ranked Kentucky) to take the Golden Eagles to the Final Four for the first time since 1977. The first Marquette player since 1978 to earn Associated Press First Team All-America, a United States Basketball Writers First Team All-American and a National Association of Basketball Coaches Second Team All-American, Wade was a finalist for the Wooden, Naismith and Oscar Robertson awards. He burst onto the national radar when ESPN The Magazine nominated him in 2002 as Shooting Guard of the Year. Wade was the 2003 Conference USA Player of the Year, and Defensive Player of the Year for what would be his last season in college.

From appearing in national TV campaigns in his hugely popular T-Mobile commercials, or designing his signature WADE shoe to modeling for Sean John; Dwyane has quickly crossed over into the world of sports and entertainment. Known for his charismatic personality and charm, Dwyane is one the most highly sought after celebrity endorsers, creating a portfolio which includes Jordan Brand, T-Mobile, Pepperidge Farm, McDavid and Gatorade to name a few. Whether its posing for the cover of GQ Magazine, Men’s Health, Ocean Drive or ESPN the Magazine, to being named one of People Magazine's top 50 Most Beautiful People, Dwyane recognizes his true accomplishments go far beyond the basketball court and fashion magazines. Through the establishment of the Wade’s World Foundation in 2004, Dwyane’s mission has been to leave the world a better place then he found it.

Show full bio

Hide full bio