Don’t worry, Miami Heat fans.
Dwyane Wade will never leave the Heat again.
After returning to play for the Heat on Friday night against the Milwaukee Bucks in what was a a 91-85 Heat win in Miami, Wade told NBA TV after the game that he won’t leave the Heat to wear another NBA jersey again, and is with the Heat until he decides to retire:
“This is it for me guys. Imma stay here until I decide to hang it up.”@dwyanewade says he’s back with Miami for good. #GameTime pic.twitter.com/UT7SjYs27g
— NBA TV (@NBATV) February 10, 2018
Here’s the full quote from Wade to Grant Hill on NBA TV, as transcribed by Manny Navarro of the Miami Herald:
“This is it for me guys,” Wade told former player and current NBA TV analyst Grant Hill. “I’m [going to] stay here until I decide to hang it up. This is home. I’m so happy to be back.”
It was a long 20 months for the Heat and Wade broken apart, and there was even times where Wade still felt like he was apart of the Heat. Wade’s best friend in Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James often noticed at times that he could tell Wade’s heart was still in Miami. Wade made sure he followed the Heat, as he watched highlights of the team, and checked their scores. There was even times Wade would have to remind himself he didn’t play for the Heat anymore during that time period:
“It’s right. It sounds right. It’s second nature,” Wade said when asked about being back with the Heat. “I was telling somebody recently that I was in my kitchen in Cleveland and watching ESPN and something came up and it said Heat versus somebody and I said ‘We play?’ And [then] I’m like ‘That’s right I don’t play in Miami no more.’ So it’s like a thing — every time I see Heat in my mind it was always like ‘We.’ So, it definitely feels good to be here, to be in the locker room.”
In-order to get Wade back, the Heat traded away a heavily protected second-round pick in 2024 to the Cleveland Cavaliers, as the Cavaliers wanted to do what was right for Wade, as they were planning on minimizing his playing time had he remained with the team the remainder of the season.
The 36-year-old Wade came off the bench for the Heat in his return, which will forever be a weird sight in the eyes of Heat fans seeing Wade in that role. However, it is something Wade was able to get used to in Cleveland, and ended up thriving in at times for the Cavaliers. That could be the role that best suits Wade going forward for the Heat, especially if they would like a veteran presence to run the bench offense.
Either way, Wade is back home. And he will remain there.
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