Photo Credit: Hector Gabino el Nuevo Herald

Dwyane Wade On Playing LeBron James For The Last Time In His Career

At the start of last year’s season, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James finally were teammtes again.

Everybody thought Wade would be a Miami Heat player for life—he helped bring three championships to the city and is considered the franchise’s greatest son.

Wade’s thoughts of departure in the summer of 2016 were unexpected, but the 35-year-old veteran had the right to be irritated with the Heat organization after contract negotiations were far apart. On July 6, 2016, Wade made a decision to return home to Chicago and become apart of the Chicago Bulls, leaving Pat Riley and stunned fans in awe.

At the time, Dwyane Wade’s reason for his exit was to return home like former Heat teammate and star forward LeBron James did with the Cleveland Cavaliers. It may be true, but in an interview on Adrian Wojnarowski’s The Vertical Podcast with Woj, Wade admitted Miami Heat owner Pat Riley’s decision to leave him hanging all summer on contract talks left the three-time champion fed up.

Wade’s time in Chicago was limited to only one year, due to the franchise deciding to re-build. This resulted in a buyout and move to the Cleveland Cavaliers where Wade again joined forces with his friend LeBron James. After only half a season, Wade was homesick and asked the Cavs to trade him back to Miami, which they did. But Dwyane was never really gone. His heart was always in Miami. Before the start of this season, Wade revealed that he would retire after the season.

Tonight, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade will face off against each other for the last time in their careers, unless the two will somehow end up in the Finals. It surley won’t be a normal regular season game for the two best friends. When asked about tonight, Wade said:

“I’m excited to play versus the Lakers. Always excited to play the Lakers. Obviously, LeBron is there and it’s our last time matching up, so it’s definitely gonna be a little extra special than any normal game. I’m not gonna tell you it’s another one of 82. No, its not, not for me. It’s a game where I get to play against not only one of my best friends but one of the game’s greatest players for the last time. I want to win as a team but I want to savor the opportunity.”