Dwyane Wade is excited to get his jersey retired by the Miami Heat this weekend, but he's also looking forward to not hearing people's questions about him possibly coming back to the NBA anymore.
Wade will get his No. 3 jersey retired on Saturday during halftime of the Heat's game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The three-time champion spoke to Rohan Nadkarni of Sports Illustrated about the emotions he's going to feel on Saturday:
“The day of getting your jersey retired is something that as an athlete, at some point in your life whether you was a kid or an adult, you look forward to having that opportunity because it’s a celebration of the career you had,” Wade said.
“But I’m also in this process of, hey, the basketball was the basketball, move on to the next phase. People still ask me, would I come back, would I come back for the playoffs, I cannot wait until y’all allow me to move on to the next phase and basketball is put behind me.
“But these moments, jersey retirement, if I’m blessed, the Hall of Fame, these moments allow you to celebrate your career with the ones you love. The journey didn’t allow you to celebrate every moment. I’m going to take these moments in, because they will not happen every day anymore. I can’t hit a game-winning shot and feel the rush I can feel when I get my jersey retired.”
Wade played 948 games with the Heat during the regular season. He averaged 22.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.6 assists.
Every Heat fan will always remember where and who they were with when Wade took over the 2006 Finals against the Dallas Mavericks. Wade put up 34.7 points per game in that series and helped Miami erase a 2-0 series deficit to win the title in six games.
Wade has a county nicknamed after him in Miami. He will always be the city's and Heat's favorite son.
Follow Us
Subscribe