Wayne Simien #25 of the Miami Heat and Kenyon Martin #6 of the Denver Nuggets compete for a rebound on December 3, 2005 at Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)

Five years ago, Wayne Simien was beginning his career as an NBA player for Miami. Then, just last year, he gave up the money and the fame of the game to begin a whole new career as a youth minister.

“Istill love the game of basketball, can play at a high level and make a great living, however I have more of a passion to pursue other things. That passion being for Christian ministry and youth athletics,” Simien announced in May 2009.

“I will be ministering through the ‘Called To Greatness’ organization (iamctg.org) that I started last year, as well as working with Morningstar Church ministering to the youth and college students.”

Simien added that “this is an exciting time in my life. I can honestly say that I am more excited about this transition into ministry than I was on college signing day or even draft night.”

In 2005, “Big Dub” Wayne was an honor roll student and two-time All-American when NBA team Miami Heat picked him in the first round.

Alongside superstars Dwyane Wade, Shaquille O’Neal and Alonzo Mourning, he played 46 games in a dream-like rookie year that finished with the Heat’s first finals appearance and only NBA Championship in their history.

The money he was receiving was huge, but Simien kept grounded unlike many rookies.

“I had a mindset that every penny that I earned, whether it was in the NBA or not, wasn’t mine,” Simien told the Kansan newspaper. “I didn’t do the typical rookie thing.”

Instead, he donated money to charity and to his church.

“I didn’t have any elaborate lifestyle,” Simien said. “I know that God is my provider whether it’s in the NBA, being a minister or working at McDonald’s.”

There are many who call themselves Christians, but the choices Wayne has made indicate he is a different sort.

He proclaims a faith consisting of a personal relationship with God, through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Two years before getting to the NBA, during his breakout sophomore year at Kansas University, Wayne found himself searching for something greater to live for than just himself and basketball.

“At that time it was what can you do for me and what I can do to excel my career as a basketball player and being the big man on campus,” Simien told the Kansan newspaper.

He regularly had mood swings and was constantly emotionally distant, according to Wayne’s mother. And the clubs, women, and alcohol he loved were doing nothing to remedy his unhappiness.

Two months into his sophomore season, he dislocated his shoulder and became depressed as he could only watch as his college team was knocked out of the championship. Without basketball to distract him, Wayne began wondering, “What is my purpose?”

Simien had often attended church with his parents, because it was expected by his community. Now, he turned to KU football player Dan Coke, a campus religious adviser, who had been asking Wayne to attend a Bible study group.

That summer, Wayne realized he needed Jesus Christ as His Lord and Savior, then in July he publicly demonstrated his new faith in Jesus by being baptised at a Christian athletes conference in Texas. The following semester he moved in with Dan and binned his cell phone of past girlfriends’ numbers.

Two years later, during his NBA draft media teleconference, Wayne said, “It’s been a combination of things over my first two years of college [that helped me solidify my faith]. I was looking for something greater to live for besides myself and basketball, and I found that with Jesus Christ. I can’t think of anything greater to live for than the kingdom of God.”

“God has done miraculous works over my life over the past two years, and I can’t help but to tell people about it — how Jesus Christ has affected my life.”

Trusting that God was in control of his life, Wayne gained the strength to handle not only the highs of sport, but the lows of injury that would follow his entry into the NBA.

Salmonella poisoning lead to his release from Miami in 2006, then leg injuries lead to Minnesota accepting, then releasing him.

Beyond his basketball career, Wayne discovered two great loves. He met his wife Katherine at church. They married in 2006 and now two children, Selah and Rael. Then, in 2008, while playing professionally for a Spanish team, he began hosting youth basketball camps in the Caribbean, the Philippines and Israel. Youth ministry has since become the focus of his life.

Unlike many sporting heroes, Wayne Simien’s passion is not for himself and his greatest hope is that many people will come to know Jesus Christ personally and receive His forgiveness, power and eternal life, just as he has.