During the 2006 Eastern Conference finals, Prince openly admitted he couldn't defend the Heat's explosive shooting guard, pleading publicly with his team to devise a new defensive plan.

Given how many battles Wade and Prince have had before and since those conference finals, Prince might be better qualified than anyone else on Team USA to assess Wade.

''The way he's playing right now is the way he was playing in `06 against us and against Dallas,'' Prince, a forward for the Detroit Pistons, said after Team USA's first practice in Beijing. ``He's obviously fearless going to the rim. He's able to take body contact and finish. He's looking great. He really has a hunger in him right now.''

Wade has more than hunger in him at the moment. Sure, he is determined to exorcise the ghosts of a 2007-08 season gone horribly wrong, and yes, he wants to prove he can successfully exist without Shaquille O'Neal by his side. But it is more than resolve that has Wade returning to peak form.

It also is his legs. His legs are as strong as ever. Stronger, even. That is what his trainer, Tim Grover, told him before he left to train with Team USA. And it is what he kept telling himself after he made explosive move after explosive move during the team's five exhibition games.

''There have been times that I've jumped this summer and it's as high as I've ever been,'' Wade said. ``I haven't even planned to do a lot of those things.

``The one lob windmill [dunk], I didn't even plan to do it, it just happened in mid-air.''

Wade said his primary goal this offseason was to strengthen his legs so his knees won't need to work as hard.

It was his critical error while rehabilitating his knee and shoulder last offseason. Wade said he spent so much time worrying about his left shoulder, which he dislocated in February 2007 and had surgically repaired three months later, that he didn't pay enough attention to strengthening the muscles around his ailing knee.

''In the weight room, I've been doing more stuff on my legs, more than the upper body,'' he said.

With his explosiveness reaching unfamiliar levels, Wade has been able to rediscover his game faster than even he expected. And it is complete with a consistent jumper from as far as international three-point range (20 feet, six inches).

Wade, who usually needs several games to find a rhythm on his jump shot, said the instant shooting success came from the days when he couldn't run or jump and focused strictly on his stroke.

The result has been 72 percent shooting from the field, including 5 of 7 from three-point range during Team USA's exhibitions.

'Actually, I've turned down some shots that guys on the team are like, `Shoot it,' because I've been shooting the ball so well they want me to shoot more,'' Wade said.

All of a sudden, Wade, whose star had taken a significant fall since he was named NBA Finals MVP in 2006, has become the go-to player on the most talented team in the world.

If Prince says that about Wade, it must be true.

''What's good for us is when we get the ball out, just to kick it up to him on the wing, because nobody can stop him from getting to where he wants to go in the paint,'' Prince said. ``I think he's the best at that on this team, as far as just throwing it up to him and letting him play.''