Wade has one factor in his favor that none of the others can touch: Shaquille O'Neal. It's why Wade is the preseason pick for the NBA 2007 Most Valuable Player Award, the most coveted individual title in basketball.

Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade (L) and center Shaquille O'Neal sit on the bench during pre-season NBA basketball action against the New Orleans/Okalahoma City Hornets in Miami, Florida, October 17, 2006. According to a new statistical measurement developed by Lenovo Group Ltd., the world's third-largest personal computer maker, O'Neal should have been benched in this year's National Basketball Association championships. [Reuters]

Although O'Neal, in his prime, was a big reason why Bryant never came close to the MVP with the Los Angeles Lakers, he is a major reason why Wade should win it now.

O'Neal - the most dominating player of his era - used to overshadow everyone around him, including Bryant. Now in the downside of his career, O'Neal serves as a enormous setup man for his teammates. He doesn't carry his team anymore. He just provides for it. Wade's timing is perfect.

"I want to help him succeed," O'Neal said last week when the Heat were in Orlando. "He deserves it."

O'Neal and Wade together pushed the Heat to the first NBA title in franchise history last season, fully expecting to do the same thing this season, which begins Tuesday night.

Although Wade had a great regular season, averaging 27.2 points and 6.7 assists, he was even better in the NBA Finals - providing an even clearer glimpse of the future.

As good as he is, he would not be where he is today without O'Neal playing center alongside him, still attracting double-team attention defensively, still worrying opponents about how they will contain him.

Although a recent poll of NBA general managers had James winning the MVP Award, the Cavaliers might not win enough to put him in position. Zydrunas Ilgauskas is no Shaq.

Steve Nash is the two-time defending MVP, and his Phoenix Suns won 62 and 54 games, respectively. Nash won it last season with the fewest number of victories for an MVP since Karl Malone in the lockout-shortened season of 1999.

The Cavs won 50 games last season. Even if James leads the NBA in scoring, they might not reach that number again.

Other MVP candidates this season will include Dirk Nowitzki (Dallas Mavericks), Tim Duncan (San Antonio Spurs), Nash (Phoenix Suns) and Bryant (Lakers). O'Neal, though, is the one who will give Wade the big edge.

Best of the rest

Since we've already picked this season's MVP, we may as well distribute the rest of the awards.

Rookie of the Year: Adam Morrison (Charlotte Bobcats). Yes, Brandon Roy in Portland is a wonderful athlete and might be the first all-star from this draft class, but Morrison has that gunslinger approach to his game. He's going to give up plenty of points, but he will score more than his share in Charlotte, which is desperate to make him a star.

Coach of the Year: Scott Skiles (Chicago Bulls). Amazing what a great defensive player can do for a team. The addition of free-agent center Ben Wallace should help propel the Bulls to the top of the Central Division with a 10-win improvement. They were good defensively without Wallace. They will be considerably better with him.

Sixth Man of the Year: Bonzi Wells (Houston Rockets): He may be a pain in the neck, but Wells could flourish with his new team, providing them with a much-needed lift off the bench.

Defensive Player of the Year: Ben Wallace (Bulls): His blocked shots have slipped in recent years, but he'll spend the season reminding the Detroit Pistons what they're missing. Quick hands should help his steals go up.

Most Improved Player: Tyson Chandler (New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets): With Chris Paul as his point guard, Chandler will get more opportunities than he ever dreamed of in Chicago. He may triple his scoring , which isn't tough when you averaged 5.3 points.

Aging of T-Mac McGrady is starting to hear the clock ticking in his ear. Going into his 10th NBA season, McGrady still hasn't gone beyond the first round of the playoffs.

At age 27, he should be in his playing prime, but now he must listen to how younger guys such as James, Wade and Carmelo Anthony have passed him by.

"It's like I'm not even on the radar at all anymore,'' McGrady said Thursday before his Rockets lost to the Magic. "I hate to say I'm getting old, but this is my 10th year in the league. It's got to be about trying to win a championship now."

McGrady, who was limited to 47 games last season with back problems, said this season should be his best chance at making a deep playoff run. He and center Yao Ming are healthy. Shane Battier and Wells have been added, and the Rockets are in a win-now mode.

"This is the first time I've been on a team that felt it really could do something at playoff time," McGrady said. "It might be a little unrealistic to think we could go from not making the playoffs to winning a championship, but at least now we're moving in that direction."