Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Seeking the elusive
Dwyane Wade and the Heat are positioned for the playoffs, but it’s not as if coming up short would tarnish his legacy — as history duly notes
It likely will come down to the final week of the Miami Heat’s season if not the final game to determine if there is to be more for Dwyane Wade.
It is something that the 37-year-old icon wants as much for his teammates as himself, with Tuesday night’s showdown at AmericanAirlines Arena against the Orlando Magic likely to go a long way toward determining the likelihood of a 14th appearance in the playoffs.
“I love the playoffs,” he said in the wake of the Heat’s 3-1 trip that concluded with Saturday’s victory over the Washington Wizards. “I think it’s important for obviously this franchise, which doesn’t play for [lottery] Ping-Pong balls.”
And important to pass along playoff experience, something only he and Udonis Haslem have in abundance on this roster.
“It’s important for the young guys to get more experience in the playoffs, so when they look at the lists of how many playoff games, me and UD are at the top and it’s a big drop-off from there,” Wade said. “So more experience is needed for this organization going forward with this youth.”
Yet while the playoffs are where much of Wade’s legacy rests, it’s not as if it is a mandatory ending when it comes to NBA eminence.
In fact, many of the game’s greatest names had no postseason attached to their final act.
Kobe Bryant, 2016 Los Angeles Lakers: Bryant went out with a 60-point game on April 13, 2016, his highest-scoring game in a season that ended with a franchise-worst 17-65 record, in last place in the Western Conference. He became the oldest player to score 60 points, at 37 years, 234 days.
Kevin Garnett, 2016 Minnesota Timberwolves: After an eight-season championship tenure with the Celtics and then two seasons in Brooklyn, Garnett, at 39, closed out his career as a mentor with his original team, appearing 38 times over the first 45 games of the season before being sidelined by a knee injury, with the Timberwolves closing 29-53.
Allen Iverson, 2010 Philadelphia 76ers: Iverson’s final season came to an abrupt close when he left the team in February to tend to the health of his four-year-old daughter, after appearing in a loss to the Bulls. There almost certainly would have been no playoffs for Iverson, then 34, even if he played out the season, with the 76ers closing 27-55.
Alonzo Mourning, 2008 Miami Heat: After previously returning from kidney illness and then a kidney transplant, a knee
injury sustained in a Dec. 19, 2007 game in Atlanta abruptly ended Mourning’s career at 36, shortly after he became the franchise’s alltime leading scorer, eventually to be surpassed by Wade. The Heat would go on to a 15-67 finish that season.
Scottie Pippen, 2004 Chicago Bulls: At 39, Pippen was convinced to make a return to his former championship home. Limited by injuries to 23 games, his final game came on Feb. 2, 2004, the Bulls’ 23-59 record ending his 16-season run in the postseason.
Michael Jordan, 2003 Washington Wizards: It ended on April 16, 2003, in Philadelphia, with the Wizards intentionally fouling in the final minutes for Jordan, 40, to receive one, final career standing ovation. The Wizards finished the regular season with a 37-45 record.
Chris Mullin, 2001 Golden State Warriors: At 38, Mullin, after three seasons with the Indiana Pacers that all produced playoff runs, returned for a final season with the Warriors that featured only 20 appearances, with Golden State closing 17-65.
Charles Barkley, 2000 Houston Rockets: Barkley’s final season appeared to be over at 36 in December 1999 when he ruptured his left quadriceps tendon. He then returned for one final game in April, receiving a standing ovation, saying, “It was important psychologically to walk off the court on my own,” with Houston finishing out of the playoffs at 34-48.
Moses Malone, 1995 San Antonio Spurs: At 40, Malone appeared in only 17 games as a third-string center for the Spurs and none in the playoffs, the last remaining NBA player with ABA experience.
Isiah Thomas, 1994 Detroit Pistons: A torn Achilles ended Thomas’ career a month early, but, at 32, there would not have been playoffs, with Detroit closing at 20-62.
James Worthy, 1994 Los Angeles Lakers: At 32 and two years removed from debilitating knee surgery, Worthy retired on the eve of the 1994-95 season, his final season ending with a 33-49 finish. Alex English, 1991 Dallas
Mavericks: Having averaged 17.9 points a season earlier as an 80-game starter in Denver, English closed out his career, at 37, averaging 9.7 points as a reserve for a Mavericks team that finished 28-54. Elvin Hayes, 1984 Houston Rockets: It was an uneven, somewhat controversial ending for Hayes. At 38, he was rarely utilized for most of his final season until receiving extended minutes to close the season. With Hayes a shell of his former self, many viewed it as the Rockets tanking toward what eventually would be No. 1 pick Hakeem Olajuwon, with Houston closing 29-53.
Wes Unseld, 1981 Washington Bullets: At 34 and three seasons removed from an NBA championship, Unseld closed out his career on a 39-43 team as the Wizards’ leading rebounder.
John Havlicek, 1978 Boston Celtics: At 37, Havlicek concluded a 16-season career with Boston that included eight NBA titles by appearing in all 82 games for a Celtics team that would stumble to a 32-50 finish, just two seasons removed from his final championship.