Miami Heat: Was Dwyane Wade robbed of MVP in 2008-09?

Dwyane Wade had one of the most prolific seasons ever in the 2008-09 NBA season for the Miami Heat but controversially missed out on the MVP award.

Throughout his illustrious NBA career spent mostly with the Miami Heat, Dwyane Wade has accumulated one of the most impressive resumes in the past few decades. The guard finished his career as a three-time champion, one-time Finals MVP, 13-time All-Star, 8-time All-NBA honors, and many more on a list that seems to go on forever.

Many have ranked Wade as the third-best shooting guard of all-time, only behind Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, some historical company. However, the one argument that has flawed Dwyane Wade’s case is his lack of an MVP award. In 16 NBA seasons, Wade never once took home the award, although many believed he was deserving once or twice, none more arguable in the 2008-09 season.

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It was undoubtedly the best season of Wade’s career, as he played in 79 games and averaged 30.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 7.5 assists per game. Wade’s 30.2 points per game were enough that he took home the league’s scoring title that year as he totaled 2,386 points on the season.

Wade was not just incredible on the offensive end, however, as he showcased incredible play on the defensive end as well. Having averaged 2.2 steals and 1.3 blocks per game, Wade put together one of the most all-around stellar seasons by a guard in NBA history.

No. 3 finished third in the Defensive Player of the Year voting, another award he arguably had a case for that season.

When the year concluded, Wade added scoring champion, All-NBA First Team, All-Defensive Second Team, and another All-Star appearance to his resume. Many believed that Most Valuable Player should have been in the mix of awards Wade took home that season. However, ultimately, LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers deserved that award entirely.

Having played in 81 games, James averaged 28.4 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 7.2 assists per game, and he also played stellar defense with 1.7 steals and 1.1 blocks per game. James and Wade’s stats may have appeared to be lean in favor of Wade, but the overall success of their teams was the deciding factor in James winning the award.

A 24-year-old James led the Cavaliers to a league-best 66-16 record, while Wade and the Heat finished as the 5-seed with a lackluster 43-39 record. Although Wade played at a sensational level all season, it was not enough to elevate Miami in such a way that James did with Cleveland.

Because of this, Wade actually placed third in the overall MVP voting, with Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers having finished second. Bryant averaged 26.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game. Once again, Wade put up better stats, but with Los Angeles having possessed the best record in the Western Conference at 65-17 behind Bryant’s play, Wade bumped down to third place.

Overall, although Dwyane Wade’s 2008-09 season was undoubtedly the best of his career, the greatness of LeBron James and Kobe Bryant watered down his chances of bringing home the one piece missing from his resume. Still, even without it, Wade went down as one of the all-time greats not just for the Miami Heat, but the league as a whole.