Dwyane Wade finally feels complete after a 16-year career in the NBA, knowing he has achieved what many others have struggled to during their respective roads in the league. The Miami Heat icon told Rohan Nadkarni of Sports Illustrated what it's like now that he has finally hung up the sneakers, able to look in retrospect to what he has accomplished over the course of an illustrious career:

“Just feeling complete,” said Wade. “Everyone is different. Some people don’t think championships make their career. Some people don’t think All-Star games or Olympic teams make them complete.

“For me, besides an Olympic gold medal which I never really dreamed of, I wanted to be a champion. I needed that for my career to be complete. I needed to show the world who I was as a basketball player, I needed that time where I didn’t have help. I needed everything about the game and I feel like I accomplished everything I wanted to. With that being said, I walk away just smiling and happy with what I did in that phase of my life. I got so much more life left so now I’m focused on what can I accomplish in this life.”

On top of 13 All-Star nods and an Olympic gold medal in 2008, Wade is a three-time NBA champion — a goal he accomplished quickly during his third year in the league. He would add to that resume in 2012, with LeBron James and Chris Bosh on his team after a disappointing first year together that saw them lose in the NBA Finals.

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Some players won't let a ring or the chance to reach the NBA Finals deter their career, but Wade knew that was his goal heading into the league, and he achieved it three times — enough to consider the last 16 years of his life as a rousing success as he heads into different endeavors.