And now, Wade decides if this was the very end
MIAMI » Dwyane Wade’s first NBA game was in Philadelphia. His last NBA game may have been there as well.
Retirement is a very — very — real option for Wade, who has been not-so-quietly saying for weeks that he isn’t sure if he’ll be back next season. The offseason is here now, after the Heat were ousted by the 76ers on Tuesday in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference first-round series, and the face of the franchise may have taken his jersey off for the final time.
He has not decided. But some of his closest friends believe this could really be the end.
“I appreciate y’all concern,” Wade said on Tuesday. “But we’ll worry about that later.”
Of course, his fans want him to come back. One prominent fan cast her vote before he even left the floor after Game 5.
“I hope this isn’t the end, but my God,” his wife, Gabrielle Union, wrote on Twitter. “Dwyane Wade has a career most people dream of. He is a damn legend. An icon. And he’s cute.”
No one, not even Wade, knows how long this process will take. He’s going to talk to his wife. He’s going to talk to his kids. He’s going to talk to the Heat, and he’s going to talk to the people within his inner circle that are trusted most.
Wade isn’t a starter, but it could be argued the three-time NBA champion is still Miami’s best player. Wade carried the Heat to victory in Game 2 and got them on the brink of a win in Game 4.
If Wade is done, the last visions fans will have of his career will be with him in a Heat uniform, still doing his thing. That matters to him. He isn’t Michael Jordan going out in a Washington jersey, or Patrick Ewing playing his last game with Orlando, or Shaquille O’Neal limping away in Boston colors.
One way or another, his career always was going to end in Heat colors anyway. He wasn’t going out in a Chicago jersey, nor a Cleveland jersey. He had to wear “Heat” across his chest again, and when the Cavaliers traded him to Miami in February, it immediately became obvious that Wade was changing franchises for the final time.
Resume-wise, he’s more than good. He’s got three NBA titles. He’s got an Olympic gold medal. He’s going to the Basketball Hall of Fame. The only guys with as many points, rebounds, assists and blocked shots in their regular season and playoff careers as Wade? Jordan is one, LeBron James is the other.
Here’s something else to consider: Wade has never wanted a farewell tour. He watched Kobe Bryant go through it, noted how much of a grind it was for the Lakers star, and doesn’t want to hear the same questions in every road stop next season.
What’s the motivation to return? That’s the unknown.