Reliving Dwyane Wade’s Miami Heat career
By Cory Sanning
I sit here today in complete silence. Quite frankly, I’m still stunned, at a loss for words. It’s been over a week, and the realization that Dwyane Wade will no longer don a Miami Heat uniform next season is starting to set in, and boy it’s not a pretty reality.
After all, Wade was a Heat lifer, he wouldn’t leave, not a city where he became a legend in. Not a city that named their entire county after him during free agency in 2010. Not an organization he went to five NBA Finals and won three titles with, right?
Seeing No. 3 in Bulls red will certainly be different, but no matter the distance, Miami will always be Wade’s city.
From the moment Pat Riley selected him with the fifth overall pick in the 2003 Draft, the aura of the Heat organization changed. 13 years later, even with his untimely departure, the decision is raking in the benefits. With Wade, Miami has won eight division titles and five eastern conference championships while claiming the Larry O’Brien trophy three times. Wade also led the league in scoring in 2009 while leading the Heat to 11 playoff appearances.
His career averages of 23.7 points, 5.8 assists and 4.8 rebounds are Hall of Fame worthy, and his impact in the Dade County community couldn’t be matched, not even when LeBron James and Chris Bosh took their talents to South Beach in the summer of 2010.
Even as he turned 34 years old this past season, he was usual brilliant self, and looked the healthiest and most spry since the 2010-11 season. In reduced minutes, Wade was able to appear in 73 games and average 19.0 points and 4.6 assists per game, and ramped his game up in the postseason, averaging 21.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 14 games.
One by one, we take a look at Wade’s most memorable moments as a member of the Miami Heat, one thrill at a time.
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