You could tell that Dwyane Wade was going to be special during his rookie season, when he led the Miami Heat to the second round of the playoffs before finally bowing out to a very strong Indiana Pacers team in six games.
But Wade's true breakout year where he truly put himself on the map for good came during his third season, when he led the Heat to a championship and put forth one of the greatest NBA Finals performances we have ever seen.
Heat president Pat Riley—who was also Miami's head coach at that time—says that Wade was the best player in the league back in that incredible 2005-06 campaign:
“He had shown tremendous promise and greatness already, but I think when he led us to the championship, it was above and beyond,” Riley said, according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. “Bringing us from disaster to winning four games in a row. At that time, he was the best player in the world. I don’t care who was in the league at the time.”
Some of the best players in the NBA at that point were Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant and, of course, Wade's later teammate, LeBron James, so Riley's statement is definitely arguable.
However, one cannot deny just how truly magnificent Wade was that season and during those playoffs. The Heat actually trailed the Dallas Mavericks 2-0 in those finals and were about to go down 3-0 before Wade led Miami to a Game 3 comeback and then proceeded to push the heat to four straight wins for a title.
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