WHAT’S BEING CLAIMED:
- Dwayne Wade announced Sunday what he called the hardest decision of his life—postponing his retirement.
- Wade decided to sign another season with the Heat, saying it was Miami or nothing.
- Wade was strongly contemplating on retirement to be with his family but with the help of Heat coach Erik Spolestra and others, he decided to stay for ‘one last season.’
One more season. For Dwayne Wade, this was the hardest decision of his life.
Wade announced the retirement postponement Sunday night through a video and said that he was coming back to the Miami Heat for his 16th and final NBA season. Wade had been thinking about his decision for the past four months.
“This is it. I’ve given this game everything that I have, and I’m happy about that, and I’m going to give it for one last season, everything else I have left,” Wade announced.
Wade is Miami’s most accomplished player in terms of points, assists, steals, and games played. Miami Heat had signed 19 players for camp, one short of the maximum, and it was nothing out of the ordinary. But now, the slot is filled by Dwayne Wade, a 22.5-point scorer for his whole career.
The delayed decision was unexpected for some but it was because he had other things to think about and do. Wade had his own personal life and family to attend to, along with coming to terms with Heat.
The point guard was strongly considering retirement up until last week when Heat coach Erik Spolestra and others gave him a push to help him decide. What they said worked.
“Can I physically do it? Can I physically get out of bed every day to do this? Can I step with every step hurting in the morning? Can I deal with the travel? Can I be away from my family? Is it selfish for me to want to continue to be away from my family?”
Wade spent 2016-2017 in his hometown of Chicago, then worked with Cleveland last season. In a trade in February, Wade returned to Heat, appearing in 26 games, and the playoffs, showing his passion for Heat again. The plan for the season is to keep Wade in his favorite role like last season, the closer.
“These things to you guys may seem small, but to me, they’re real,” Wade said. “I feel like my family has put me first for so many years, for good reasons. But there comes a point in time when we’ve all got to think about someone else, especially the ones around you that have supported you, supported your dreams, supported your journey like my family have,” Wade said.
The 36-year-old could have moved to another team, but he didn’t. It was Miami or nothing. Wade won’t likely be starting games, but he’ll be finishing them for sure.
Source: ESPN
