Dwyane Wade and LeBron James sharing the same court.

It happens on the U.S. Olympic team.

It happens when the Heat play the Cavaliers, like Thursday night.

Imagine if it happened all of the time, right here in Miami, the NBA's two brightest, in-their-prime superstars joining forces to make the Heat an envied and perennial league power.

``We're playing fantasy basketball right now,'' Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Monday when the notion was put to him.

I wasn't sure if that was Spoelstra dismissing it, or dreaming it.

Either way, in this case the leap from fantasy to reality isn't so far-fetched.

Could it actually happen, Dwyane? You and LeBron together in Miami?

``It really could,'' said the man himself. ``We've given ourselves the ability to control our own destiny. If we want it to happen, it can.''

Of course, months, miles and millions stand between it can and it will, but the possibility is very real. It is part of what torques up Thursday's visit by Cleveland and turns a game into an event.

It isn't about you, Shaq. Sorry. Not this time. Shaquille O'Neal's second time back in Miami since leaving the Heat is strictly peripheral now. A sideshow.

This is about Dwyane and LeBron. For now it's Dwyane versus LeBron, in a personal friendly rivalry that could become this generation's Magic vs. Bird.

``No question. It's always a special day,'' Wade said. ``It's like with Melo [Carmelo Anthony] and C.P. [Chris Paul]. And Kobe [Bryant] as well.''

BIG SHAKE-UP

It's two superstars trying to one-up each other. And that's enough. For now. But what if Dwyane versus LeBron became Dwyane and LeBron?

It would be a pairing that would rock the NBA Richter scale. It would make this a basketball town or close enough to one that the Dolphins would be scrambling for attention. And it could happen after both players become free agents July 1.

If they want to be teammates, the city they anoint will make it happen, and Miami is among a select handful of teams that will have the salary-cap wherewithal to pull off such a coup. Now ask yourself which is likelier: Wade, who loves Miami, relocating to freezing Cleveland? Or James, who loves Miami, ditching the snow for South Beach?

``I would love everybody to focus their energy down here to the beautiful city of Miami,'' was Wade's sales pitch Wednesday to top pending free agents in general, and one in particular.

Wade talked after a practice about the mutual admiration between himself and James. They are friends; not best friends, but friends who call and enjoy each other's company. Wade visited James at his home last year. James dropped in on Wade's impromptu birthday party. ``Respect and love is there,'' Wade said.

Wade said he was not sure what, if any, greeting he and O'Neal would have before Thursday's game, but said, ``I know me and LeBron [will] hug up.''

You wonder how two driven young men with substantial egos could fit on the same team? Part of the answer is finding a greater good beyond self.

``It takes special people to be able to do that,'' Wade said. ``But at the end of the day, success brings you anything you want. That was a conversation our Olympic team had. Bring your egos that help make you great, but check them at the door.''

Dovetailing two superstar egos is another reason Miami would be a better fit. ``King James'' probably is the bigger star nationally, so him coming to Miami -- to ``Wade County,'' where No. 3 is established and beloved -- would enable Wade to enjoy even footing more than if Wade joined James elsewhere.

Landing James in free agency and pairing him with Wade would be the ultimate, career-capping coup for Heat president and architect Pat Riley.

The charismatic, persuasive Riley could sell sand on the beach, but how much power of persuasion really would be needed to convince James that living in Miami and winning championship rings with D-Wade beats any scenario that includes the word ``Cleveland?''

AN AUDITION

A James-Wade eventuality has its best chance of becoming real in 2010 if Cleveland falls short of the NBA Finals and the season leaves James believing he would have a better chance with Wade here than with what he has with the Cavs.

Likewise, the more impressed James is with Wade's surrounding cast, the better. Miami's 6-1 start maybe has James' attention, but probably not as much as if he leaves Thursday's game impressed with the potential of Michael Beasley or Mario Chalmers.

Next summer will be about selling James on Miami. Why not start now? Maybe a couple of friends can have a nice chat over a postgame meal in South Beach -- who knows? (Guessing Riley might even pick up the check.)

Dwyane and LeBron, together. Fantasy basketball, Spoelstra called it. Well, the first definition of ``fantasy'' is ``imagination, especially when extravagant and unrestrained.''

Fantasy basketball, indeed.

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