A new AllUCanHeat Miami Heat 1-on-1 is here.
Let’s get right into it: talk a little bit about what Dwyane Wade‘s #OneLastDance with the Miami Heat means to you…
Allana Tachauer (@allanatachauer): Would it be cliché to say everything? Probably, but I’m going to say it anyways. Here’s the thing: despite being raised a Chicago Bulls fan, Dwyane Wade is what got me back into following the NBA, after I took a good eight year hiatus from it. There was something about the way he played that had me hooked, and just like that, this Chicagoan became a Miami Heat fan. So for me, there is no Miami Heat Basketball, without Wade. (Let’s be real, I always knew his stint with the Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers thereafter, wouldn’t last long.) I can’t put into words how appreciative I am for the fact that he returned for a final season though. And I’m definitely cherishing every minute he spends out there on the hardwood.
Brandon Johnson (@bjohnsonNBA): Wade’s last season is the cherry on top of my basketball fandom for the last two decades. I’m a huge Kobe Bryant fan, and seeing him retire amidst the flashy lights of Los Angeles in 2016 was a fitting end to his career. (Brief aside: I went to one of his games in LA that season, at home against the Orlando Magic. He didn’t play, sat on the bench for a half and just left. I think I could hear his helicopter take off as the Staples Center sat, basically silent. That sums up Bryant’s basketball persona in a nutshell). But Wade’s last dance is just that—it’s elegant. It’s the culmination of a career defined by fatherhood, sacrifice and just plain good basketball. The warm welcomes and standing ovations are all he needs, to bookmark his Hall of Fame career.