On This Day In Miami Heat History: In 2019, Dwyane Wade Scored 30 Points In His Final Home Game
Former Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade promised he wasn't going to let emotions get the best of him.
For the most part, he succeeded.
Wade kept his composure throughout his final game at AmericanAirlines Arena one year ago. He scored 30 points in a victory against the Philadelphia 76ers, closing the door on the best chapter in franchise history. A day later, Wade would play his last game in Brooklyn to cap a 16-year career that will surely end in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
"My thoughts are all over the place," Wade said in the postgame ceremony. "As I sit here, I think about the moment that my agent came to the table in New York in 2003 and told me the Heat were about to pick me at five. It was a numb feeling, similar to what I'm feeling right now."
Wade went through a series of emotions when it was over. They took him from the day he was drafted to when he helped lead the Heat to their first championship in 2006 to winning consecutive titles alongside LeBron James and Chris Bosh in 2012 and 2013.
"I heard the ovation, I heard the love," Wade said. "I appreciated it then and I more than appreciate it now. I'm sitting here the most thankful person in this state."
Wade retired as the consensus third-best shooting guard in NBA history behind only the late Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan. A 13-time All-Star, he finished as the Heat's career leader in points (21,556), assists (5,310), steals (1,492) and minutes (32,912).
The organization retired his No. 3 jersey Feb. 22, making him just the fifth player in franchise history to receive the honor. The others are Alonzo Mourning, Shaquille O'Neal, Chris Bosh and Tim Hardaway.
"To play my last game on this floor, I'm not crying on the outside right now because I'm so joyous," Wade said. "This is going to take some getting used to, tuning in watching this organization, watching my teammates play out here and I'm not there. It's definitely going to take me a while to get used to it."
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