Electronic Arts announced today that Dwyane Wade will be the cover athlete for NBA Live 06. Dwyane Wade is having a banner year with the Miami Heat (partially thanks to Shaquille O'Neil) and has averaged 24.1 points and 6.8 assists per game while leading the Heat to a No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. The Heat recently swept New Jersey Nets in the first round of the NBA playoffs.

"This is quite an honor to be named cover athlete of NBA Live in just my second year as a professional," Wade said. "When you look back at some of the great players who have had this opportunity, it's exciting to be a part of the EA Sports family and contribute to a game I've been playing for more than 10 years."

Simultaneously, EA announced that Donnovan McNabb will be on the cover of Madden NFL 06. During the regular season he had a passer rating of 104.7 (second highest in the NFC) and threw for 31 touchdown passes with only 8 interceptions. He also lead the Philadelphia Eagles to the Super Bowl for the first time in his career.

"This is one of the top honors in the NFL -- you have truly made it when you are on the cover of Madden NFL Football," said McNabb. "With the attention and changes they have made to the passing and the focus on the quarterback this year, it was worth the wait to be the cover guy and part of the EA Sports team."

NBA Live 06 will release in late 2005 for the PS2, PSP, GCN, PC, and Xbox. Madden NFL 06 will ship for PS2, GCN, GBA, PC, DS and Xbox in August 2005. No mention was made about PSP or next-gen versions of Madden.