On Wednesday night, the entire basketball community bid farewell to two of the greatest players in the history of the sport. The Dallas Mavericks' Dirk Nowitzki and Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat both played the final game of their illustrious careers on Wednesday, and it was indeed an emotional moment for the world of basketball.

In a recent tweet, Wade's wife, Gabrielle Union, revealed that she and Dwyane had actually crossed paths with Nowitzki's wife earlier in the season:

This may have been a trivial piece of information considering all the recent discussion centering around the careers of these two greats, but as Union indicated in her hashtag, there's more to this sport than just basketball. This further illustrates how the NBA is one big family, and how they all go out of their way for each other.

Sadly, though, both the Mavs and the Heat lost on Wednesday night, and it was not exactly the best of ways to send out Nowitzki and Wade.

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The Mavs fell to the San Antonio Spurs, 105-94, but Dirk made sure that he made his final appearance count, as the former MVP accounted for 20 points, two three-pointers, and 10 rebounds.

For his part, Wade did all that he could to try and lead the Heat to a victory, logging 25 points (on 10-of-28 shooting), three three-pointers, 11 rebounds, 10 assists, and a block in 36 minutes of play. It would be in a losing effort, though, as the Heat were unable to hold off the Brooklyn Nets. The game ended with a final score of 113-94, in favor of Brooklyn.