The Miami Heat honored their departing legend Dwyane Wade in any number of incredible ways tonight. But this might have been the coolest. Wade’s son Zaire teamed with the Heat to recreate one of his most iconic commercials with Converse.
Watch the remake and the original:
In case anyone forgot pic.twitter.com/32nWXzkRH4
— Chris Wittyngham (@ChrisWittyngham) April 10, 2019
Dear Dwyane Wade,
While we really never wanted this moment to come, it’s time to officially say goodbye to the person HEATnation watched grow up before our eyes, the player we called our captain, and the hero this town nicknamed their county after.
There are very few legends in this community. Maybe that’s because South Floridians have a tough time opening up our hearts to sports heroes unless they are truly worthy. Dwyane Wade, YOU have been worthy of it all. From the moment you joined the Miami HEAT as a draft pick in 2003, you proved you were worthy like a flash of lightning descending on this city and creating a spark in the league. And like a flame that never burns out, you’ll always be worthy of the love, respect, celebration and admiration from the fans and the community for generations to come. We are HEATnation, because of you. Without #3 leading the pack, there aren’t three championships parades, there’s no “Big 3” era, and there are no ring ceremonies or banners hanging from the rafters of the American Airlines Arena. You made us more than just a #BasketballTown, but a town that WINS.
But more importantly, you gave our community LYFE and lead us in fights we couldn’t win on our own. You made our town a better place with your endless philanthropy. You stood up for so many who couldn’t find the strength to do so during one of the most tragic, darkest periods of our time: gun violence. And you didn’t just care about the tragedies in our own backyard, you fought for everyone in the country because you care about them as if they were your own sons, daughters, sisters and brothers, because that is the WAY OF WADE.
So how does this town, this city, this league thank you for all you’ve done on and off the court? Nothing seems to suffice! But here’s a shot:
Thank you for the years you devoted to our team. For the thousands of hours of blood, sweat and tears you poured into your craft. For giving us your soul and lifting us up when we needed it most. Thank you for representing our team 13 times in the NBA All-Star game and for being one of the most respected members of our community. Thank you for playing with all your heart as you represented our team on your jersey and for giving all of your heart as a citizen to the place we all call home.
Thank you for literally putting all of HEATnation on your shoulders and for embracing South Florida.
You gave us your all, always. Time. Effort. Energy. Gave up money to make our team better. Played through pain to bring us the glory of a championship. Spent your days off fighting to make the world a better place. You’ve been our family and we’ve been yours. And FAMILY IS FOREVER!
HEATnation may wish for another year to watch your greatness in the house that you helped build, watch you drop back for another pull away three, and scream as you hop on top of the scorer’s table one more time, but there is so much more to the Dwyane Wade L3GACY than the years you’ve spent wowing us as an athlete.
As the the final buzzer rings on your prolific career, we know you’re just getting started. We hope wherever this retirement takes you, you are always reminded of the pride, love and admiration we have for you. And we know the drive, dedication, commitment, passion and love you brought to the sport that made you a household name, will continue to burn brighter than ever as you get ready to begin the first quarter of another game in this thing called life.
It’s been our pleasure to live by the thrill you provided night after night to HEATnation, and South Florida will never forget what you’ve done for us. Your place in history among our intimate club will always remain at the top…because of who you’ve been to us on and off the court. We can’t wait for you to be brought to your feet the way you repeatedly brought us up on ours. The stats may one day get surpassed, but your legacy and impact are forever irreplaceable.
We thank you, we celebrate you and respect you for being as much of a champ off the court, as you are on it …for being our brother and friend…for being knocked down 7 times but getting up 8!
The key is forever under the mat,
Every HEATlifer, member of HEATnation, fans of the game and all of South Florida.
Genna Revitz, a Miami media veteran, is the latest addition to Miami Heat Beat.
The day started with a simple question.
What has Dwyane Wade meant to you?
Starting this early….
This is the thread where you can answer this question:
"What has @DwyaneWade meant to me?"
What follows here is mine…..
— Ethan
— THREE Reasons Sports Network (@5ReasonsSports) April 9, 2019
Here were some of the best responses:
By bringing the Big Three together, it gave my dad and I a chance to enjoy game 5 against the Thunder together. It is a night we will always remember spending together and even though we were higher than the rafters, was something I’ll never forget.
— Carmi gross (@Carmigross) April 9, 2019
@DwyaneWade made me love basketball. I started watching sports in 02 and gave the tournament a chance when some team id never heard of had a guard that jumped off the screen with highlight plays. Couple months later, watching the draft and my hometown heat take him. I started
— Franky G (@FrankyG_) April 9, 2019
From the moment my 8th grade teammate (in Michigan, mind you) got a pair of D Wade shoes, I passed him the ball wayyyy too much during games. Why? Because I always thought my odds were better passing the rock to someone with mythical-backing and perhaps supernatural strength.
— Spencer Krauss (@SpencerKrauss7) April 9, 2019
Some of my favorite memories w/my Dad are watching/talking about the Heat. My Dad's favorite player was Wade. So sad he left. When my Dad was sick w/cancer we would watch Heat games the next day because he couldn't stay up. Heat games were the only thing he could concentrate on..
— #ThankYouWade (@Rizzmiggiz) April 9, 2019
@DwyaneWade has meant one word to me, FAMILY.
— Adam Cristo (@AdamCris) April 9, 2019
What Dwyane means to me is that there is more to you than your job title. For someone like myself who’s mother is everything to them, seeing what Wade has done for his mother is so amazing. He kept his promise to her when he finally made it. #MoreThanBasketball
— Maurice. (@dturngotsole) April 9, 2019
When my parents split when I was in high school I had a hard time talking to my dad and the only thing I could talk to him about was Wade and the Heat, and for a couple years he was our lifeline until I was able forgive my dad and open up to him again
— Jesse Saint Facile (@Jsaint21) April 9, 2019
relatively new basketball fan. lebron drew me to the heat. wade is why i stayed.
— zig? (@ZigOnTheRocks) April 9, 2019
@DwyaneWade made me the sports fan I am today. No team in Miami was as good for as long as the Heat were growing up. Everyone I knew loved Wade and the Heat, everyone I played against mimiced dwades post fades he was a shift in sports culture down here. im gonna miss him.
— Veinhype 🇵🇷 (@veinhype) April 9, 2019
Over the year I have grown to love him so much my three year old son is named after him Dwyane Carter Pino
— Danny (@DPinoJr) April 9, 2019
What @DwyaneWade means to me it’s what he does off the court he is a role model. When the @MiamiHEAT drafted him I didn’t know much about him other then he made it to the final four. During the draft I wanted the heat to draft TJ Ford thankfully I’m not the one that made the pick
— Danny (@DPinoJr) April 9, 2019
My first memory of Miami Heat basketball was @DwyaneWade leading the Heat to a championship. My most recent was his game-winner against Golden State.
Simply put, the only Miami Heat basketball I know is a Dwayne Wade one.
Here’s an open letter I wrote to my favorite athlete. pic.twitter.com/yLk36uaJ2n
— Kevin Fielder (@TheKevinFielder) April 9, 2019
Me love basketball. Out here in vegas on oct 1 something terrible happened and i lost a friend. This plus the fact of the job i was working in was terrible i was depressed i lost my energy to do anything and wasnt really watching basketball. Then came the trade when dwade was
— Marooned on Weighters Island (@deadhand55) April 9, 2019
In 2002 I moved to the US from Ecuador only knowing the sport of soccer. Basketball was Space Jam, so it took me about a year until I actually played it with kids in my neighborhood the summer of ‘03, and they all kept talking about this nba draft which I still knew nothing about
— They Don’t Love You Like That (@its_teta) April 9, 2019
What inspires me the most is Wade’s next-level playoff performances which helped the team win series & championships they otherwise had no business winning. His '06 & '05 runs remain some of the most incredible displays of will I've ever seen—a testament to the human spirit.
— Travis Reilly (@mmmtravis) April 9, 2019
and tell him "Dwyane, you know how we feel about you. We're all so happy you're back." He smiled widely, thanked me, and shook my hand. A moment I'll never forget. I'll remember Dwyane as the inspirational figure that introduced me to the magical world of NBA basketball.
— Hector Fabelo Jr. (@Haktuar) April 9, 2019
Just the way carries himself the way he cares about his community a father first. Dwyane is everything you would aspire to be. Just to be a tenth of dwyane then you are on the right track.
— John Chester (@jchester1701) April 9, 2019
For me, it's that his talents on the court matched everything he did off of it. I've never had the honor of meeting of the man, but he's everything I've come to want from our celebrities. Maybe if we were all a little more like Flash, the world wouldn't be so shitty.
— Nick Schilling (@NickSchilling3) April 9, 2019
My daughter is 3 and stayed up to watch the end of Heat/Warriors with me earlier this year. When 3 hit that insane buzzer beater she yelled at the top of her lungs before running around the house with me in pure joy. It was amazing.
— Sean Quinn (@SQuinn17) April 9, 2019
Today’s a difficult day for Heat fans. Dwyane Wade is playing his last game at AmericanAirlines Arena. And the emotions are running high. But my goodness both Wade and Budweiser just turned the emotion up to 11.
It’s going to be an emotional day. Incredible stuff from Wade and Budweiser here pic.twitter.com/MSClhURWeh
— Five Reasons Sports Network (@5ReasonsSports) April 9, 2019
An incredibly well told story on the vast swaths of people Dwyane has impacted, from those closest to those furthest away. Tonight’s about much more than his playing career, and this video captured it perfectly.
El Miami Heat anunció el despido de Rodney McGruder tras la derrota ante los Toronto Raptors.
¿Sorprendidos? Muchos de los que seguimos al equipo sí..
¿Porqué en este preciso momento?
El famoso tope salarial era la principal razón de esta extraña movida, y algunos analistas de Five Reasons asomaron la posibilidad de que este fuera un golpe letal a lo que se le llama la “cultura” del Miami Heat.
Column: Less #Culture, Better #Planning for the Heat https://t.co/QkKT15L0Qs
— Five Reasons Sports Network (@5ReasonsSports) 8 de abril de 2019
A falta de dos juegos solamente para que termine la carrera de Dwyane Wade con el Miami Heat (a menos que pase algo improbable), se asoma la posibilidad de que ese concepto, que ha sido clave en la manera de construir esta franquicia en los últimos años, se deje en el abandono.
¿Fue el despido de Rodney McGruder la clara señal de que el equipo va en otra dirección?
¿Quién mejor que él para personificar lo que en escencia es la cultura del Miami Heat?
Ese fue el tema principal del episodio 29 de Cinco Razones Podcast, en la víspera del último juego de Wade en el American Airlines Arena:
Paul Pierce and the rest of the late 2000s, early 2010s Boston Celtics have always had an inflated sense of self.
They won one championship together, but you’d think it was 12. They felt they owned Ray Allen, like, literally. They believed they were in LeBron James’ head, right until he dropped 45 on them in their building of blowhards when the Celtics might have ended the Heat’s Big Three right there and then.
But Pierce, oh, Pierce. He’s really big market Alex English and slightly lower budget Carmelo Anthony, but somehow he’s always been the biggest blowhard of the bunch; at least Kevin Garnett was actually a top-3 player at one point. And last night, on ESPN’s pre-game show, he couldn’t help putting himself ahead of Dwyane Wade in terms of career accomplishments.
Paul Pierce says he had a better career than Dwyane Wade 👀 pic.twitter.com/8Q6AbYNxe1
— NBA Central (@TheNBACentral) April 6, 2019
And Twitter had its way.
A few highlights of, um, Truth…..
Jalen Rose is a savage for exposing Paul Pierce 🤣🤣
pic.twitter.com/1XZHGovCa3— Ingram Special (@Irv_Do) April 6, 2019
Is Paul Pierce better than Dwyane Wade? pic.twitter.com/b6NDjDJktk
— Steven Rodriguez (@_stevenrod) April 6, 2019
Paul Pierce embarrassing himself.
DWade
13 All-Stars
8x All-NBA
3x All-Defense
3 RingsPierce
10 All-Stars
4x All-NBA
0x All-Defense
1 Ring— Chris Martin Palmer (@ChrisPalmerNBA) April 6, 2019
Story on Dwyane Wade to compare his humility to Paul Pierce… I recall writing a story in 2012 about him being the 3rd best 2-guard ever. And asking him in front of LeBron.
Wade: “really? U think so?”
LeBron: “yeah, man. Of course.”
— Five Reasons Sports Network (@5ReasonsSports) April 6, 2019
And, finally, Wade speaks the real truth…
You said it better than i could. https://t.co/5LhKnHW9xX
— DWade (@DwyaneWade) April 6, 2019
Dwyane Wade estará en boca de todos los fanáticos de baloncesto en el mundo durante la última semana de acción en la NBA.
El Miami Heat se juega la clasificación en los últimos cuatro juegos de la temporada.
Probablemente Wade llegue a su último partido en Brooklyn sin estar seguro si realmente esos serán sus últimos lances sobre un tabloncillo del mejor baloncesto del mundo.
El momento del retiro de cualquier jugador profesional es algo dramático porque incluye no solo dejar de hacer lo que mas le gusta, pero le da un vuelco entero a la manera de vivir el día a día.
“Voy a necesitar terapia. Siempre estuve en contra de que alguien que no me conoce me diga como vivir mi vida, pero voy a necesitar a alguien con quien hablar al respecto”, respondió Wade cuando Rachel Nichols, de ESPN, le preguntó sobre ese tema. “Va a ser un gran cambio. Le dije a mi esposa. Yo necesito terapia. Nosotros necesitamos hacer terapia. Va a ser diferente”
“Quiero ver en qué puedo ser bueno. Hacer un poco. de todo. Estoy emocionado por lo desconocido. Vamos a pasar mas tiempo el Los Angeles. Hay muchas cosas con las que he tenido que ser un ajuste en mi mente,” dijo un muy serio Dwyane Wade, acompañado por su esposa Gabrielle Union y su hija mas joven Kaavia.
Dwyane Wade ya tenía tomada la decisión de retirarse cuando terminó la temporada 2017-18, pero unas conversaciones con Carmelo Anthony y Chris Paul lo hicieron cambiar de parecer.
Convencieron a Wade de regalarnos un año mas para celebrar su carrera, y hemos visto un tour lleno de momentos emocionantes en todos estadios de los Estados Unidos.
“Uno siempre tiene una idea de como le gustaría que se dieran las cosas, pero cuando la realidad supera lo que uno había imaginado, es una experiencia extraordinaria”, afirma Dwyane Wade en la entrevista con la presentadora de The Jump. “Mi esposa no me va a dejar poner todas esas camisas. Creo que tendré que comprar otra casa,” bromea el mejor puesto dos de la historia de la NBA después de Michael Jordan.
La despedida definitiva de Wade puede ser con una dolorosa derrota en Brooklyn o en los playoffs.
Todo parece indicar que ese duelo directo entre el Miami Heat y los Brooklyn Nets el miércoles 10 de Abril definirá el destino de ambos equipos.
Dwyane Wade llegará al que puede ser su último juego con el Heat con el escenario que no quería vivir, sin saber exactamente si esos disparos al aro son los finales en su carrera.
Sobre su despedida, Wade no tiene expectativas tan altas.
“Kobe puso la barra muy alta, creando la expectativa de que uno se debe retirar anotando 60 puntos en su último juego. ¿Quién hace eso? Solo Kobe. Yo me voy a despedir de la manera en la que Dwyane Wade está supuesto a despedirse,” dice Wade sobre esos últimos minutos. “Ayuda que estamos en la carrera por los playoffs, porque así solo me enfoco en ganar, pero voy a tratar de anotar unos 40 puntos”
It is the season for nostalgia when it comes to Dwyane Wade.
We’ve done our share on the Five Reasons flagship podcast, Miami Heat Beat has done plenty of its own on podcasts and videos (check THIS out), and naturally the Heat have hyped plenty about #OneLastDance.
We have felt that the national media have been a little slow to this story. Yes, Sports Illustrated just published a cover story, and sure there was plenty of coverage of Dwyane and Dirk at All-Star Weekend. But it’s been nothing like the attention afforded to Kobe Bryant’s farewell, and he was broken (and kind of an arrogant a– at times).
Yet you turn on ESPN today and they’re talking about LeBron. Of course.
And TNT is choosing to show a Celtics game rather than Wade’s last home game, next Tuesday against Philadelphia.
At least Brian Windhorst acknowledged the importance — and positivity — of this story when he was on our podcast.
And another of our friends, a Miamian named Jay Gutierrez, has put together a pretty cool video for the mother ship.
We thought we should share:
— Five Reasons Sports Network (@5ReasonsSports) April 5, 2019
This Teammate of the Year thing is a cute idea.
Reward someone for being there for the other guys on his team…. day after day, year after year.
For his passion.
For his sacrifice.
But really, what are any of these other guys doing here with Udonis Haslem?
Thank u for the nomination for the 2018-19 Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award #blessed #og pic.twitter.com/dvFG62sih1
— Udonis Haslem (@ThisIsUD) April 2, 2019
We like Mike Conley a lot…. he’s a nice guy and a major Dwyane Wade stan.
Good stuff from @mconley11 on @DwyaneWade pic.twitter.com/xxHrUqQHBz
— Ethan J. Skolnick (@EthanJSkolnick) February 16, 2019
Channing Frye is a popular figure…. and a Goran Dragic fave.
So is Jared Dudley.
Khris Middleton?
Our Nekias Duncan (pictured left below) has more than a man crush.
He has a restraining order against him from the Bucks forward.
(Maybe. Maybe not. But he should.)
But Wade, Haslem’s teammate since 2003, had it right.
Congrts to all the nominees but this award has @ThisIsUD written all over it. Y’all know where my vote is going and it’s not because he’s my brother it’s because i get to witness it everyday. He’s an everyday leader for us. https://t.co/W8lNgKw38K
— DWade (@DwyaneWade) April 3, 2019
There’s no one else on that list who repeatedly stayed with the same team, offseason after offseason, taking less money until recently. Sixteen years in all. There’s no one else who is feared inside the locker room by those 50 pounds heavier. There’s no one else who would have done this:
Lance is playing with LeBron. Seriously. You remember @ThisIsUD separating them? From our podcast… https://t.co/DeCpatSGfq
— Five Reasons Sports Network (@5ReasonsSports) July 2, 2018
Oh, and there’s this:
He follows @MiaHeatBeat on Twitter.
If that’s not taking one for the team, nothing is.
(Feature photo by Tony Capobianco at a Dolphins/Bears game, where Haslem tolerated Wade.)
Dwyane Wade’s long time cinematographer Bob Metelus (@MistaDubb) joined Ethan Skolnick and myself for today’s Five Reasons podcast. Metelus is currently working on a documentary chronicling Wade’s final season in the NBA.
In the episode, Metelus tells great stories about life with Wade over the last decade plus, including some trips abroad that demonstrate just how big of a star he is…. something even Wade hasn’t always realized.
But among the more interesting parts of the episode is just how the #OneLastDance video came together, and just how much everyone around Wade was convinced he was retired. The story’s a bit long but, just like Wade’s career, worth every second.
Check out the clip below and make sure to listen to the full episode.
And in case you forgot how that video turned out….
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