NEW YORK – After the Miami Heat scorched the New York Knicks, 111-100, on March 19, Pat Riley was asked if it was fair to compare Dwyane Wade to Magic Johnson at the same point in their careers. The question elicited the expected response, in that Wade –the 24 year-old Miami Heat superstar- is a shooting guard, while Johnson directed the Showtime Lakers that Riley had coached two decades earlier.

“Dwyane is a two-guard, whereas Magic was a different player –a 6’9” point guard. They are packaged differently, so they can’t be compared. However, Dwyane should be compared to the other great one [Michael Jordan] in some way, shape or form because there are so many similarities other than size. He will make his own place in this game, and we see that day in and day out. We are very lucky to have him on our side.”

Their luck began on Draft Day, 2003.

With the No. 1 pick, the Cleveland Cavaliers selected LeBron James, the phenom from St. Vincent St. Mary High School in nearby Akron. Even Wade couldn’t find fault with such a popular decision.

“Nope,” he replied, when asked if the 2003 draft could be done over, would he have gone first. “You can’t do it over. So, I don’t think about that. LeBron deserved to go first; he deserved to remain at home in Cleveland. And, I deserved to be the fifth pick.

“If it could be done over, I’m sure Jordan wouldn’t have gone third.”

After Darko Milicic, from Serbia-Montenegro, was taken second by the Detroit Pistons, Syracuse’s Carmelo Anthony and Georgia Tech’s Chris Bosh -each of whom had declared themselves eligible after their freshman year- were tabbed by the Denver Nuggets and Toronto Raptors with the third and fourth picks, respectively; the Heat -now on the clock, and looking to improve on their 25-57 record of a year earlier- chose another underclassman. Wade, a 6’4’, 212, junior guard from Marquette, had led the Golden Eagles to the Final Four of the 2003 NCAA Tournament. In particular, he shined during the Midwest Regional Final, where he tallied a triple-double [29 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds, as well as four blocked shots], as Marquette upset the heavily-favored No. 1 Kentucky Wildcats, 83-69. His statline was just the fourth such occurrence in Tournament history, following Oscar Robertson [1959], Magic Johnson [1979] and Andre Miller [1998].

After Wade averaged 16 points, 4.5 assists and 4 rebounds in his rookie season, it was evident that stardom was well within reach.

Still, he was overshadowed by James [20.9 points, 5.9 assists, 5.5 rebounds and 1.65 steals,] and Anthony in the Rookie of the Year voting. The Cavalier guard, with 508 points, became the youngest player in NBA history to win the Eddie Gottlieb Trophy.

Anthony, who joined James as the fourth and fifth rookies in league history to receive every available Rookie of the Month honor during their inaugural season finished a close second with 430 points.

The Miami guard, known as Flash, trailed with 117 points.

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It has never been easy for Wade, and that is something any aspiring player can admire. He was born in 1982, on the South Side of Chicago, but his parents divorced shortly thereafter. His older sister, Tragil –a devout Christian-, is most responsible for giving his life direction.

In 2005, Wade proved to be a team player off-the-court as well, donating 10% of his $2.6 million salary to the Blood, Water and Spirit Ministry in Chicago. Such generosity placed him a very select group, as only 14% of American Christian adults are known to tithe [a 2000 survey, conducted by Barna Research Group Ltd., stated that eight percent of this country’s population actually do so]. And, while he no longer tithes 10 percent of his pre-tax earnings to his former church in Chicago, he plans to continue such benevolence when he and Siohvaughn, his wife, select a church in South Florida.

“That has been the most impressive thing about him,” his Chicago-based agent, Henry Thomas said. “He has handled his rapid rise to stardom with tremendous class, and has remained appreciative, humble and respectful of the success he has been blessed with.”

It is often said that someone who gives from the heart will always get back more. If that is true, then Wade has been rewarded handsomely. It wasn’t enough that, through the Heat’s trade with the Los Angeles Lakers in July, 2004, he was now aligned with Shaquille O’Neal, who at 7’1, 325, is the largest teammate in the National Basketball Association.

Wade, 24, -who often went without dinner as a child- has seemingly got it made now. He has already outgrown his 3,190-square-foot, six-bedroom house, which was bought less than three years ago. There was a photo shoot in the works with Sean John [the immensely popular clothing line founded by hip-hop impresario Sean ‘P. Diddy’ Combs], following Combs’ visit to Miami Beach. And, a trip to Vancouver is also on the horizon, where Wade is set to become the face of EA Sports’ ‘NBA Live 06’ video game. He has already visited the set of ‘Live with Regis and Kelly’; ‘People’ has tagged him as one of its ‘50 Most Beautiful People.’ Wade had already begun to field movie offers. And, maybe, there is a music production company in the works. On top of everything, his No. 3 jersey is among of the NBA’s top sellers.

“Sometimes, I have to pinch myself,” said Wade –who, at 27.7 points per game- is the league’s fifth leading scorer. “Each day I’m happy, because I get to do everything that I’ve always wanted -and more. There is no reason for me to be mad about anything.”

“What that means,” Riley elucidated, “is that he knows where he came from. He knows how he got here. He knows why all these things are coming at him -because he has worked, and cared about winning. And, as long as he keeps it real that way, he’ll be able to handle all the other stuff.” “For most of my life,” the guard reflected, “I was poor and things weren’t going right. But, maybe –over the next 60 or 70 years of my life- everything will be fine. That’s a good trade-off; I’m very blessed.”

The Heat, too, feel the very same way. Miami’s victory pushed their record to 45-21 and allowed them to clinch a playoff berth in the Southeast Division; the Heat are such a well-balanced team that it is not even required of Wade to play well.

A day earlier, he was 1-8 with 10 turnovers in 29 minutes in his return to Chicago. Had it not been for a perfect 13-13 from the charity stripe, the stat line would have been abysmal. And still, the Heat won 85-84.

“I tried to bounce back today,” said Wade, who scored a game-high 30 points, and added nine assists. “I just wanted to make plays for my teammates. Then, I looked to make plays for myself. I’m just playing basketball the way I know how.”

Then, he smiled. “We’re getting there. I don’t want to say we’re there yet because I don’t want to feel complacent.”

The great ones never do.