Dwyane Tyrone Wade, Jr., also known as Flash or D-Wade, is an American professional basketball player, currently playing for the NBA's Miami Heat. Already one of the elite1 guards in the league at 24 years of age, he is touted2 as a young but extremely gifted player who is considered to be one of the brightest spots in the future of the NBA.
Growing Up
Dwyane Wade was born in 1982 on the South side of Chicago, Illinois. He cited3 his older sister Tragil Wade as the individual most responsible for his childhood upbringing and for steering4 him in the proper direction. His parents divorced shortly after he was born.
After an outstanding high school basketball career at Richards High in Oaklawn, Illinois, Wade was named Mr. Basketball Illinois and received a basketball scholarship to Marquette University.
Hard Work Pays Off
Dwyane Wade didn't play in his freshman year at college because of poor grades, but he worked hard and became a team leader for Marquette over the next two years. In 2003, he led the Eagles to the Final Four and NBA scouts5 began to notice Dwyane for his explosive moves to the hoop and Michael Jordan-like outstanding scoring touch. Dwyane Wade was picked fifth overall in the 2003 NBA Draft by the Miami Heat and was on his way to NBA stardom6.
NBA Career
Wade averaged7 better than 16 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists in his rookie8 season. He further had outstanding performances in the 2004 NBA Playoffs, particularly against the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. In the end, however, Wade's successful rookie season was still somewhat overshadowed9 by the fellow rookies LeBron James10 and Carmelo Anthony11. He still was able to earn unanimous12 selection to the NBA 2004 All-Rookie team, and also finished 3rd in rookie of the year voting (behind James and Anthony). He also ranked in the top five among rookies in six major statistical categories.
Wade was chosen as a member of the 2004 USA basketball team during the 2004 offseason. However, he had a limited role as most of the playing time was given to more experienced veterans. But with his defense, he was considered one of the few bright spots on a team that otherwise performed poorly by the standards of U.S. Olympics basketball, eventually finishing with the bronze medal. Wade averaged 7.3 points and 17.5 minutes in the eight games that the USA played in the Olympics.
After three seasons in the NBA, he's become an NBA All-Star, a top scorer and is also considered one of the nicest guys in the league. He donates13 a ton of money to charity14 and is well liked by teammates. Shaquille O'Neal says the main reason he wanted to be traded to the Miami Heat was for a chance to play with Wade. Shaq says that he appreciates Wade's me-second attitude when playing with his teammates. With Dwyane Wade as an explosive15 swingman16 and Shaq has a dominant center, the Heats have one of the best guard—center combos17 in the NBA.
In the first round of the 2005 NBA playoffs (a sweep of the New Jersey Nets), Wade became only the seventh player in league history to average at least 25 points, 8 assists and 6 rebounds while averaging 26.3 points, 8.8 assists, and 6.0 rebounds at 50% field-goal shooting. Amazingly, Wade accomplished this feat18 once again in the 2nd round playoffs sweep of the Washington Wizards.
In the 2005-2006 NBA season, Wade was elected to his second All-Star Game in 2006.
In the 2006 NBA finals, the Heats defeated the Mavericks with a 4-2 win. The Heats lost the first two games, but they caught up and managed to win the next four games, and got the first NBA championship in the team's history. In Game 6 on June 20, 2006, Wade got 36 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals. After falling behind by 14 early in the first half, Miami rallied19 back to take a nine-point lead before fending off20 Dallas in the fourth quarter. Wade took home The Finals MVP award.
Wade was also named to the USA Basketball National Team from 2006-2008. The team competed in the 2006 World Championships in Japan, and will complete in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
Off-court
Wade's success and popularity enables him to make a lot of money by signing with big businesses. Wade also appeared on the cover of EA Sports' NBA Live 2006 video game. In 2005, he became the second ever Miami Heat player to be chosen as one of People Magazine's 50 most beautiful people. (The other was Alonzo Mourning.) In 2006, GQ magazine described him as “the best dressed player in the NBA.” In what was perhaps the best example of Wade's rising popularity, he finished No.1 in jersey21 sales for the 2005-2006 season.
Wade is a Christian and he gave 10% of his $26 million salary this season to a church in Chicago. Wade gave 10% of his income to the church even before he started playing in the NBA.
A strong supporter for literacy, Wade encouraged children to read his favorite novel, Pride and Prejudice, as well as other literary classics. In his words, “It's one of my favorite books, which usually surprises people. I guess they wonder how a love story from old England could be relevant to a 21st century basketball player from Chicago. Class struggle, overcoming stereotypes22 and humble23 beginnings, getting out of your own way and letting love take over: these are things I can relate to, definitely.”
Dwyane Wade and his wife, Siohvaughn, have a son Zaire. Dwyane and Siohvaughn have been together since they were nine years old! Dwyane Wade's favorite foods are chicken and mashed potatoes.
小德维恩·泰龙·韦德，也有人叫他闪电侠或者德—韦德，是美国职业篮球运动员，目前效力于NBA迈阿密热队。他现年24岁，已经是全联盟的中坚后卫之一，被誉为天赋极高的年轻运动员，被视作NBA未来最耀眼的明星之一。
逆境出英才
韦德1982年出生于伊利诺伊州芝加哥市的南郊。他说他童年所接受的教养以及正确人生道路的选择全多亏了他的姐姐拉吉尔。他父母在他出生后不久就离婚了。
在伊利诺伊州奥克罗恩镇理查兹高中读书时，韦德在校篮球队取得了辉煌的成绩，因此被提名为伊利诺伊篮球先生，还获得一份进入马凯特大学的篮球奖学金。
梅花香自苦寒来
因为学习成绩不理想，大学一年级时韦德没有打篮球，但他勤奋刻苦，在接下来的两年内成为马凯特大学篮球队的领袖人物。2003年，他带领马凯特大学的金鹰队打入全美大学生联赛半决赛，他富有爆发力的上篮以及乔丹般杰出的进球感觉，引起了NBA球探的注意。2003年的NBA选秀大会上，韦德以第五名的身份被迈阿密热队选中，开始走上NBA的明星之路。
NBA辉煌生涯
在NBA的第一个赛季，韦德平均每场得16分，抢4个篮板，有4次助攻。2004年NBA季后赛中，韦德继续有杰出的表现，特别是在东部半决赛和印第安纳步行者的比赛中。然而，最终韦德的成功表现和同样是新人的詹姆斯和安东尼相比就显得黯然失色。但他还是以全票入选2004年NBA最佳新秀阵容，并且在年度新人排行榜上居詹姆斯和安东尼之后，获第三名。此外，针对NBA新人的6项主要技术统计数据榜中，他名列前5名。
2004年季后赛期间，韦德被选入2004年美国篮球队，但是他上场时间有限，大部分上场时间让给了有经验的老队员。但是，他的防守是这支表现不佳、只获得铜牌的美国奥林匹克篮球队中为数不多的亮点之一。在他上场的8场比赛中，韦德平均每场得7.3分，平均上场时间17.5分钟。
在NBA三个赛季后，韦德就入选全明星队，成为头号投手，而且在全联盟口碑甚好。他向慈善机构捐赠了大笔钱，还深得队友的喜爱。大鲨鱼奥尼尔说他转会到迈阿密热队的一个主要原因就是他希望有机会和韦德一起打球，奥尼尔还说他欣赏韦德球场上个人第二的运动态度。韦德是个极具爆发力的后场摇摆人，而奥尼尔是势不可挡的中锋，这样热队就有了NBA最好的后卫——中锋组合之一。
在2005年季后赛第一轮大胜新泽西网队的比赛中，韦德平均每场得26.3分，8.8次助攻，6个篮板，命中率为50%，从而成为NBA历史上第7个平均得分超过25分，8次助攻，6个篮板的运动员。令人惊奇的是，在第二轮大胜华盛顿奇才队的比赛中，韦德又取得了相同的战绩。
2005-2006赛季，韦德第二次入选2006年全明星队。
2006年NBA决赛阶段，热队以4：2的成绩战胜了小牛队。热队输了头两场比赛，但他们迎头赶上，赢了接下来的4场比赛，为球队获得历史上第一个NBA总冠军。在2006年6月20日的第6场比赛中，韦德得36分，10个篮板，5次助攻，4次抢断。上半场，热队落后14分，但在第4节热队组织反攻，一度取得9分的领先优势，并最终抵挡住了达拉斯小牛队的反攻。韦德获得总决赛最有价值球员奖。
韦德还被选入2006-2008美国国家篮球队，这支队伍参加了在日本举行的2006年世界篮球锦标赛，还将参加2008年北京奥运会。
赛场外的韦德
韦德的成功和知名度使他能够同许多大企业签约因而收入颇丰。他还出现在EA Sports发行的《劲爆美国职篮2006》网络游戏产品的封面上。2005年，他被《人物》杂志评为最漂亮的50人之一，他是迈阿密热队队员中获此殊荣的第二人（另外一个是阿朗佐·莫宁）。2006年，美国时尚杂志“GQ”称他是NBA最佳着装球员。韦德人气高涨的的最佳体现也许是在2005-2006赛季，他的运动衫销量第一。
韦德信奉基督教，他将本赛季的2600万美元收入的10%捐给了芝加哥的一个教会。在进入NBA打球之前，他总是将自己收入的10%捐给教会。
韦德坚信人应该读书识字，他鼓励孩子阅读他最喜欢的小说《傲慢与偏见》以及其他一些文学经典。用他自己的话说，“这是我最喜爱的书之一，很多人为此感到惊讶。我想他们会感到奇怪，一个古老的英格兰爱情故事同出生在芝加哥的21世纪的篮球运动员有什么关系。阶级斗争、克服偏见和卑微的出身、走自己的路、让爱做主，这些都和我有明确的关系。”
韦德的妻子叫西奥沃恩，他们有个儿子叫扎伊尔。韦德和西奥沃恩9岁时就相识，可谓青梅竹马。韦德最喜欢的食物是鸡肉和土豆泥。
1. elite n. 精英；中坚
2. tout [taut] v. [口]高度赞颂，吹捧
3. cite [sait] v. 提出，说到
4. steer v. 指导
5. scout [skaut] n. 四处物色新人才的人，此处指球探。
6. stardom n. 明星的地位，明星界
7. average v. 平均得分
8. rookie n. 新秀、新人
9. overshadow v. 遮蔽, 使…失色
10. LeBron James 勒布朗·詹姆斯，2003年NBA选秀大会状元。
11. Carmelo Anthony 卡梅罗·安东尼，2003年NBA选秀大会探花。
12. unanimous adj. 全票通过的
13. donate v. 捐赠
14. charity n. 慈善事业，慈善团体
15. explosive adj. 具有爆发力的
16. swingman n. 摇摆人，指可在两个不同位置打球的球员，尤指既能打前锋又能打后卫者。
17. combo n. 组合
18. feat n. 功绩
19. rally v. 重整旗鼓
20. fend off 抵挡 fend [fend] v. 抵挡，击退
21. jersey n. 运动衫
22. stereotype n. 陈规, 老套
23. humble adj. 卑微的