D-Wade is the Man Right Now

The #1 draft pick 3 years ago was Lebron James, who is also the #1 player being taken in most of this year's NBA Fantasy League drafts. There's no question that Lebron is probably offensively the best talent in the league today, with Kobe at a very close second. Lebron put up stats last year that only 4 other players in NBA history have done, placing him amongst the elite.

But when it comes to the current man of the NBA, you have to put the spotlight on D-Wade, and not just for stats sake. He displays like a posterchild for the league. You can argue he doesn't have Lebron's stats or million-dollar Nike deal, but if you watch games you'll notice that D-Wade is being pushed to the front of the pack via all sorts of ads and marketing. He has the Converse shoe ads, Lincoln Navigator promos, ads with Charles Barkley for T-Mobile, and a deal with Diddy's Sean John clothing as a model. He basically put the Miami Heat on his back in the 2006 NBA Finals en route to winning the MVP in just his third year in the NBA. Not only this, but Wade is a family man, has kept away from controversy and seems to represent the league very well. Wade had the #1 selling NBA jersey last year. And even on the streets people love D-Wade, so he transcends the business world of the NBA, the sports world, as well as the hearts of street bball fans. He is the man of the NBA, right now.

This is not to say Lebron won't be the man; but as of the moment now it appears the light is shining upon D-Wade, a relatively unknown #5 draft pick from Marquette University.