Dwyane Wade, Udonis Haslem thank fans ahead of Miami Heat’s home opener
Dwyane Wade stepped onto the court at AmericanAirlines Arena with longtime teammate and friend Udonis Haslem before playing in the last home opener of his acclaimed NBA career.
He had a message to share.
“My brother and I, we want to thank each and every one of you guys,” Wade said before the Miami Heat tipped off against the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday night.
Wade’s 16th and final season in the league — his one last dance, as he is calling it — officially started on Wednesday, but reality might not have truly sunk in for Heat fans until Saturday.
Fifteen seasons have come and gone. Three NBA Championships, 12 NBA All-Star appearances and a slew of team records are already in the books.
It’s time to enjoy one last dance.
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“With Dwyane in particular, you have a built in awesome perspective,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “You don’t want to let any moment go by without taking it in and really honoring every aspect of this profession. I think that’s what he’s already doing and not in a way that gets in the way. It’s being in the present moment and if we can all be like that, if you could always know when the expiration date is done, you would approach everything a little bit different.”
This story was originally published October 20, 2018 at 8:16 PM.