By Tyler Banks
In many ways, basketball is poetry in motion: a complex choreography – acrobats weaving around each other, sometimes gliding through the air, as the percussion sound of a basketball keeps the tempo.
This summer, Dwyane Wade announced that he was coming home.
“I feel like it’s right to ask you guys to join me for one last dance, for one last season,” Wade said. “This is it. I’ve given this game everything that I have, and I’m happy about that. I’m going to give it for one last season, everything else I have left.”
And he did.
After 16 years in the NBA, the Miami Heat legend, Dwyane Wade, played his final home game and he put on a show. Wade put up 30 points, three rebounds, and three assists. Every bucket brought Heat fans flashbacks of Wade as a fresh rookie, ready to soak up all of the knowledge that the game had in store for him.
As the 5th pick in an incredible 2003 draft — that included LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, and Chris Bosh — Heat fans weren’t sure about how the young guard out of Marquette would perform in the sunshine state, but their doubts were soon put to rest. He electrified audiences with his death- defying moves, killer crossovers and acrobatic layups and during the game he hit stepback shots, fadeaways and free throws all to create a night that the basketball world will never forget.
We became Wade County.
Dwyane Wade not only became the face of Miami sports, he became its heart and soul. There was something about him – the college kid that had to take out a loan to pay for diapers, often overlooked and underestimated, who trained hard and always, always showed up to each game – that made him an instant fan favorite. He grew up here, and we grew up with him.
“I hope they are proud of what they have helped me become. This city means everything to me. It’s forever, forever, forever going to be my home,” Wade said in a press conference after his final home game.
Throughout his illustrious career, he captured three NBA titles– all for the Heat– won a finals MVP, became a 13-time All Star, an Olympic gold medalist, and was an eight time all NBA player.
He played with, and against, some of the best athletes to play the game. He played hard — landing shots that seemed impossible, leading the team in assists, playing defense, sacrificing his body – all the while personifying quiet, calm, grace under pressure.
Dwyane Wade spent almost his entire career in Miami. Sixteen years: longer than some of us have been alive. In a time when sports are almost entirely a business, Wade made us believe that he loved the sport, that he loved his team, that he loved our city. And we love him for it.
So thank you Dwyane Wade, for all of the moments and memories you shared with the world, because there will never be another one quite like you.
