Four NBA teams.

That’s the number of NBA teams that let that superstar from Marquette go no.5 in that fateful 2003 draft. Yup, I’m talking about Dwyane Wade, the incomparable 6′4” guard of the Miami Heat, who is literally carrying the team to another run for the NBA Title.

Well… THAT is if they can get pass the revitalized Detroit Pistons with a new ”Flip” engine that’s running their explosive offense.

Four teams, including the Cleveland Cavaliers who drafted LeBron James as the overall no.1, those Pistons drafting second with Darko Milicic, (What a waste that one was!) the Denver Nuggets drafting Carmelo Anthony at third and the Toronto Raptors drafting their new main attraction on that side of the border with Chris Bosh for the fourth overall pick.

However, it’s still arguable to say that Dwyane Wade should have gone no.1 because of LeBron James’ stellar play with the Cavaliers. As a matter of fact, no one knew of a rookie named Dwyane Wade in Miami three seasons ago when all the talk was this rivalry between these two rookies, LeBron and Carmelo Anthony.

Initially, it wasn’t expected to be this way. When James was the no. 1 pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, the conversation was about an enduring rivalry with no. 3 pick Carmelo Anthony, who was coming off a high-profile NCAA championship season at Syracuse.

But with Anthony’s Nuggets two time zones removed from James’ Cavaliers, and with Denver only a twice-a-year rival for Cleveland, the emergence of Wade altered the equation. – Sun Sentinel

And yes, did Wade altered the equation with emphatic fashion. Dwyane, from all the rookies in his batch, was the closest to ever win an NBA Championship. And he did all that in only his second year with the league, losing to the Pistons in the East Finals.

D-Wade surely has a promising career in the NBA. As long as he has the seven-foot skyscraper, Shaquille O’Neal, to ease of some defensive pressure from his young legs, the sky’s the limit for this bidding icon in Florida.

[D-Wade is one of the leading candidates for MVP this season. Wade is in the top ten in points, assists and steals and he's only one of few players to do just that this year. Can D-Wade win the season's MVP honors? Log on and visit Bodog to find out.]