One Last Dance
Dwyane Wade took just 17 seconds short of 10 minutes to get his point across in a video he uploaded for public consumption, but the title says it all. “One Last Dance ...” Indeed. For a final run, he will be donning a jersey and going through the rigors of a grueling season, his 16th in the National Basketball Association. Just like most of his immediate past, he will be coming off the bench. And, again, he won’t be a freeloader; he will be on the floor in the closing stages of games, and often with the ball in his hands, deciding outcomes.
Truth to tell, the length of the YouTube clip isn’t the only indication of the internal struggle Wade had to, well, wade through before making a decision in his future. That it took him two and a half months since free agency began speaks even more volumes of the extent of his vacillation. And he came close to putting his sneakers to storage, proud of his body of work and looking forward to life away from hoops and with his family.
In the end, the call of competitiveness was too compelling to contravene. It helped, of course, that the Heat — who had Wade’s heart from the get-go save for brief flirtations with the Bulls and the Cavaliers — continued its courtship and sold him on his importance moving forward. It was what most mattered to him, with his $2.4-million salary merely gravy and ultimately immaterial. And it was definitely what most mattered to fans intent on giving him a proper sendoff.
Parenthetically, Wade’s 2018-19 campaign will be one long retirement ceremony. Everywhere he goes, he will be feted and praised for his accomplishments. And while he won’t always appreciate being fussed over, he cannot but acknowledge that it’s what he deserves. He’s a 12-time All-Star, a former Finals Most Valuable Player, and, for a while prior to the turn of the decade, the best of the best at the two spot. He will be sorely missed, which is why everybody and his mother will want to appreciate him while they can.
Wade’s 2018-19 campaign will be one long retirement ceremony. Everywhere he goes, he will be feted and praised for his accomplishments. And while he won’t always appreciate being fussed over, he cannot but acknowledge that it’s what he deserves. He’s a 12-time All-Star, a former Finals Most Valuable Player, and, for a while prior to the turn of the decade, the best of the best at the two spot. He will be sorely missed, which is why everybody and his mother will want to appreciate him while they can.