Dwyane Wade’s jersey-retirement weekend opens with emotional ‘Flashback’ event
The three-day party to celebrate Dwyane Wade’s legendary Heat career began Friday night with an event labeled “The Flashback” at AmericanAirlines Arena, and there was plenty of reminiscing.
With family, friends, former coaches and teammates in attendance, Wade sat on stage and was met with highlights, stories and photos from his 16-season NBA career during the two-plus-hour show. There were plenty of laughs and smiles.
“Life is good,” Wade said.
The current Heat roster was at AmericanAirlines Arena for Friday’s event, including longtime Wade teammate Udonis Haslem and players who never played with Wade like Tyler Herro, Meyers Leonard and Kendrick Nunn. Coach Erik Spoelstra and his coaching staff, Heat president Pat Riley, managing general partner Micky Arison and CEO Nick Arison also watched on just feet away from the stage.
Riley spoke for more than 10 minutes to close the show, focusing on Wade’s impact on the organization. Wade is considered the greatest player in franchise history based on sustained success with the organization and, arguably, the greatest athlete in South Florida sports history.
Riley said: “When we drafted Dwyane Wade in 2003, it’s not a coincidence that all of the great things when it comes to winning championships, being in the Finals, when it comes to all of the fans and the parades. ... It’s not a coincidence that all of that happened after we drafted Dwyane. ... Ever since Dwyane became part of this team, we’ve had nothing but success.”
Former Heat teammates in attendance Friday included Ray Allen, Dorell Wright, Chris Bosh and Alonzo Mourning. Former Heat assistant coach David Fizdale, who has developed a close friendship with Wade off the court, was also in attendance.
Lakers All-Star forward LeBron James, who spent four seasons as Wade’s Heat teammate, could not make the event with the Lakers hosting the Grizzlies on Friday night. James is not expected to make an appearance in Miami during Wade’s weekend, as the Lakers also have a home game Sunday afternoon against the Celtics.
Former teammates like Caron Butler, Brian Grant, Eddie Jones, Lamar Odom, Shaquille O’Neal and Quentin Richardson originally planned to be at Friday’s event for Wade, but conflicts later arose that prevented them from being there.
Some who couldn’t be in attendance Friday left video messages for Wade. Among those who left messages for the 13-time All-Star via video were Wade’s college coach at Marquette Tom Crean, Butler, O’Neal, and James.
Among the highlights from the various videos shown Friday ...
James said: “Am I really sitting here congratulating you on something that we both knew was going to happen when we were sitting there pre-draft in Chicago? ... I really should be sitting here wondering like, when is that statue going to go outside AmericanAirlines Arena? Which one is it going to be? Is it going to be the ‘Flash’ dunk that you did in the Finals when you won the first championship? I don’t know. Maybe not that one. Is it the one where you stand on top of the scoreboard and you say, ‘This is my house.’ Is it that one? I don’t know about that one. Or maybe it’s the one where you keep pulling yourself up on the rim before the game starts. I think I like that one.”
O’Neal said: “Jersey is going in the sky. The greatest Miami Heat player to ever play the game. Thank you for helping me get [championship] No. 4. ... Everybody loves you D. Wade. Tonight is your night, congratulations. In a couple more years, you’ll be in the Hall of Fame.”
Crean said: “When people look at your jersey, they’ll have incredible memories. They have incredible feelings. And the bottom line is they will remember how you made them feel. I think about it every day. I think about the impact that you have on me, on those we know together and those that I’ll never meet.”
Butler said: “I’m just so proud of you as a human being and everything that you represent. They cannot tell the story of basketball without mentioning you. That is a big deal.”
Miami rapper Rick Ross, who is friends with Wade, opened Friday’s event with three of his songs. Ross collaborated with Wade, Haslem and singer-songwriter-producer Raphael Saadiq for a new song titled “Season Ticket Holder” that was released Friday to kick off Wade’s weekend, and they performed it on stage as part of the opening act of Friday’s event.
With Friday marking the start of the three-day “L3GACY Celebration,” it continues Saturday when Wade will become the fifth Heat player to have his jersey retired during a halftime ceremony in the middle of the Heat’s home matchup against the Cavaliers. The celebration ends Sunday with an exclusive screening of Wade’s documentary, “D. Wade: Life Unexpected,” at 3:30 p.m. at AmericanAirlines Arena before it airs on ESPN at 9 p.m. that same day.
“It’s overwhelming,” Wade’s wife Gabrielle Union said of the weekend during an interview with Fox Sports Sun. “From the second we land, it’s nothing but love and admiration and respect and appreciation. I think he’s just taking it all in. We’re all just sort of taking it all in. It’s a little surreal.
“I think there’s going to be a lot of tears. I think everyone is going to sort of look back and truly appreciate everything he has brought not only to this organization, but to the city.”
There were a lot of funny moments during Friday’s show.
While Spoelstra sat next to Wade on stage for a segment, Wade joked about his reaction to the news that Spoelstra would become the Heat’s head coach in 2008. Wade said he was like, “What?”
Spoelstra joked of Wade leaving the Heat in 2016 to sign with the Bulls and eventually the Cavaliers: “When he signed in Chicago, I texted him right away. I was like, ‘That just doesn’t look right. I can’t even envision you in a Chicago Bulls jersey.’ It just looked horrible. Then it only got worse. Going to Cleveland, are you kidding me? You can go anywhere. We’ll buy you a ticket, go to LA. You can’t go to Cleveland.”
When Mourning got on stage, Wade and Haslem used it as an opportunity to roast their former teammate and current Heat executive.
“It doesn’t matter how old you are,” Haslem said with a laugh. “If Zo is talking to you, it sounds like your daddy is talking to you.”
Wade, who spent all but one full season of his 16-year NBA career in Miami, is the Heat’s all-time leader in categories like points, games played, minutes played, assists and steals and is considered one of the top shooting guards in NBA history. Among his most impressive accomplishments: Three championships with the Heat (2006, 2012, 2013), a Finals MVP award in 2006 and an NBA scoring title in the 2008-09 season.
“Many, many years ago, I talked to Pat Riley about this,” Wade said to the fans toward the end of Friday’s event. “I said I wanted to have my own night. A little narcissistic of me, but I wanted to have this night because I wanted to be able to share it with you guys. Y’all brought me so much, y’all have given me so much love, y’all protected my family so much, y’all gave me my own county for goodness sake. So, I hope that you guys are proud. I hope you’re proud tonight and I hope you’ll be proud tomorrow of what we all accomplished.”
This story was originally published February 21, 2020 at 10:02 PM.
