Miami HEAT guard Dwyane Wade heads the list of nominees on the male ballot after being named the 2006 NBA Finals MVP after averaging 34.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.67 steals in the six-game series against the Dallas Mavericks while helping the Miami HEAT earn their first NBA Championship.

During the 2006 postseason, Wade led the HEAT in scoring average (28.4 ppg), points (654), field goals made (219), field goals attempted (441), free throws made (202), free throws attempted (250), assists (132), steals (51), double-figure scoring efforts (23), 20-point games (22), 30-point games (11) and 40-point games (two). He also ranked among the NBA postseason leaders in steals per game (1st), scoring average (4th), assists average (9th), minutes per game (11th), field goal percentage (17th), blocks per game (17th) and free throw percentage (34th). His 28.4 scoring average throughout the playoffs set a HEAT franchise record for a single postseason.

During the 2005-06 season, Wade was named as a starter for the Eastern Conference in the NBA All-Star Game. He also earned Eastern Conference Player of the Month honors for February while being named as the Eastern Conference Player of the Week on two occasions (weeks ending Dec. 4 and Jan. 1).

The Academy Athlete of the Year ballot is the culmination of the Academy’s yearlong Athlete of the Month program, which recognizes the accomplishments of men and women in any sport around the globe. The Academy’s Athlete of the Month is selected by an international voting committee comprised of former athletes, media, sports organizations and governing bodies.

Votes will be collected online from December 1st – 25th. The ballot will be located on a website hosted by the Academy and will be available through direct links from USATODAY.com Sports content and the sports pages of MSNBC.com. To submit your vote, please visit http://www.usatoday.com/sports/front.htm, http://athleteoftheyear.msnbc.com, http://www.ussa.edu/aoy/index.asp or http://www.HEAT.com.