Miami Heat icon Dwyane Wade was snubbed from Sports Illustrated's annual Top 100 NBA players ranking, making this the first time in his NBA career in which he hasn't been featured among the magazine's top 100 NBA talents.
Wade took a bench role for the majority of the season, first upon joining his longtime friend LeBron James with the Cleveland Cavaliers and once again after being traded back to the Heat for a second-round pick.
The 6-foot-4 shooting guard is still mulling the possibility of retirement, especially considering a career-low 11.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game — all of which came through the very first time Wade played an average of under 3o minutes per game.
Wade made three starts for Cleveland before head coach Tyronn Lue changed his mind, inserting J.R. Smith back to his old spot, giving the team not much more than a sporadic source of 3-point shooting as a result.
The 36-year-old came off the bench in 21 games for the Heat. While he could still consider a return to the game, he is unlikely to muster a starting job with Goran Dragic and Dion Waiters in the backcourt.
Teammate Hassan Whiteside also found himself out of the list after a 2017-18 season marred with injuries and subpar play, despite averages of 14.0 points, 11.4 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks per game.
This could potentially spell the end for Wade's reign as one of the NBA's best talents at shooting guard, though the recent signing of career-long teammate Udonis Haslem could be the start of a domino effect convincing him to return.
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