By Ira Winderman

updated 4:56 p.m. ET March 24, 2006

When it comes to individual rivalries, at least in the NBA, there is no three-man weave.

"For some reason," Heat coach Pat Riley says, "it's hard for people to get more than two names of phenoms out of their mouths. It was Robertson and West, Chamberlain and Russell, Bird and Magic."

And at the 2003 NBA draft, Riley acknowledges, "it was James and Anthony."

But over the past three years, that has changed. LeBron and Carmelo has given way to LeBron and Dwyane.

"That's the way it seems like it's worked out," Wade says. "We're both in the Eastern Conference; our records are up there. We see each other four times a year, and the Nuggets and Carmelo -- we only see them twice a year."

The association between the Heat's Wade and the Cavaliers' James is a friendship, a rivalry, and even more than that, it's a constant. When Wade won the Skills Challenge at last month's All-Star Saturday, James was runner-up. Then James was named MVP of the All-Star Game the next night, but Wade scored the winning basket for the Eastern Conference.

Days later, when Wade received his invitation package from USA Basketball, he delayed his Olympic decision until another decision was made. "One of my main things was making sure certain guys were going," he says. "I had a lot of conversations with LeBron. I think we both wanted each other to be there."

LeBron and Dwyane. James and Wade. They are muscled. They are aggressive. They are charismatic. They are young.

"They're like two young running backs who arrive in the NFL at the same time," Celtics assistant coach Dave Wohl says. "Dwyane is more like a shifty running back. He hits the hole after finding where the hole is. LeBron is more like Emmitt Smith. He just hits the hole and drags three tacklers with him and gets the yardage."

Together, they are moving the NBA's chains.

"We don't have much pioneering anymore these days," says Trail Blazers scout and former Magic general manager John Gabriel, "but maybe in size and strength and athleticism these two are different from any player we've ever seen. They are more poised and mature for their age than any player we've seen with the same skill set."

But are they rivals?

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Wade isn't sure he wants to go there -- not yet. "I'm 6-4, LeBron's 6-8; we don't guard each other," he says. "We don't look at it that way. We both go out there and compete hard to try to get our teams wins."

In the next breath, Wade admits that though physical differences may keep them apart at the opening tap, their competitiveness invariably brings them together. "Every time we play together, we'll match up against each other a couple times a game when certain guys might get in foul trouble," he says.

When they do, Pacers assistant Jimmy Powell sees two of a kind. "They're so versatile, and they both see the floor so well," he says. "They're known as great scorers, but they're both really good passers. They're able to make plays for other players."

Coaches and scouts also point to the physical strength of both players and how they take hits and finish at the rim. "Dwyane has incredible speed and change of direction in getting there," Wohl says. "LeBron uses his size better. Once he gets his line to the basket, you've either got to take a charge, you've got to foul him or he gets a layup or a dunk."

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