"It gave me the opportunity to mess up on the court" - Wade loved having LeBron and Carmelo in his draft class

For most young players entering the NBA after an All-American First Team campaign in their last college season, they're naturally expecting all the attention to be on them. Fortunately for Dwyane Wade , things didn't plan out that way. Despite putting up impressive averages of 21.5 points and 2.2 steals per game in his junior year at Marquette, the spotlight was on LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony. D-Wade liked that situation and used it to his advantage.

Dwyane had a deeper rookie campaign

As the 2003-04 season kicked off, all eyes were on The Chosen One, with everyone expecting LeBron to prove why he deserved that hype. Even though he averaged 20.9 points and 5.9 assists per game, media circuits were ready to criticize him for failing to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to the playoffs.

Similarly, Carmelo Anthony averaged 21 points per game and narrowly missed out on winning the Rookie of the Year award. Moreover, though he even led the Denver Nuggets through to the playoffs, he was criticized for averaging 15 points (third-best on the team) in the first-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Flash, on the other hand, got to work out of the spotlight. He averaged 16.2 points per game in the regular season, contributing decently to help the Miami Heat improve their win-tally by 17, but it was his performance in the postseason where he truly shined. After learning from averaging 15.4 points per game in the first-round series against the New Orleans Hornets, he went on to register a team-high scoring average of 21 points in the second-round series against the Indiana Pacers.

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Wade knew staying away from the spotlight did wonders

While it might've been frustrating not to get the same attention as The King or Melo, Wade shared in an interview with Stephen A. Smith that the lack of focus on him gave him the space to make mistakes and improve, while the other two were under constant pressure.

"When I first came in, I wasn't expected to do much at first. Almost like flying under the radar. I had LeBron and Carmelo, them guys was the talk of my draft, " Wade said. "So, I was flying under the radar, and it gave me an opportunity to mess up on the court. I am thankful for that."

Looking back, it seems safe to assert that the particular breathing room helped Wade in the long run - he won an NBA championship as the Finals MVP in 2006, before any of his peers from the 2003 draft class. In fact, Carmelo, for example, never won a title.

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