American Idol

by Patrick Cassidy for Dime Magazine

Dwyane Wade poses solemnly in the cradle of the stars and stripes. He stares earnestly back at the camera, mindful of the American Flag draped behind him.

It’s the first magazine cover shoot for the 22-year old Miami Heat guard; playing to a camera lens is uncharted territory. He has to be directed a little, told where to look, where to put his hands, how to stand, but he’s eager to follow instructions. “I was on the cover of Sports Illustrated once back at Marquette,” Dwyane says. “But this is the first one that’s just for me. I want to do it right.”

Many more magazine covers are in Dwyane’s future and there will be plenty of time to perfect his modeling game, because he is on the precipice of something very, very big. After just one season in the NBA, Dwyane Wade is already many things to many people. He’s a humble Olympian, a God-fearing, devoted family man and a blue-collar star with game to spare. And as we saw this summer, from talking to everyone from teammates and opponents to Dime readers and even casual hoop fans, on some level, Wade resonates with everybody. Dwyane Wade is what American basketball is all about. The R. Kelly/Jay-Z collaboration “The Best of Both Worlds” is playing in the background – an appropriate soundtrack for the cover shoot, considering Dwyane is floating between two worlds. It took his entire rookie season to fully emerge from the long shadows cast by LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony, and now Dwyane is on the verge of white-hot fame.

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