5 major Miami Heat franchise records held by Dwyane Wade
Dwyane Wade announced yesterday that he will be returning to the Miami Heat for one final NBA season before calling it quits, fair and square. This last dance of his will be one hell of an emotional roller-coaster for long-time NBA fans who've grown up on a staple of D-Wade's trademark explosive posterizing dunks.
One of a kind as a player, Wade's playing style resembled that of GOAT Michael Jordan's from his early days more than any other player in history - especially that reliance on his ultra-fast first step that no defender in the league had an answer for.
He was the do-it-all guard for the Heat pretty much like James Harden is for the Rockets today, except he played stellar defence on the other end too. Let's take a look at Wade's 5 most unbreakable Miami Heat franchise records:
#1 Games played - 876
Drafted in 2003, Wade signed his first three contracts with the Heat for a total of 13 straight seasons in South Beach. Despite staying with the franchise for such a long time, Wade was unavailable for 190 of the 1066 regular season games that he was contracted to the franchise for, mainly due to injuries.
The 2007-08 season also saw him miss some games owing to the Heat shutting him down for the rest of the season in order to aid their tanking process.
Wade was traded to the Heat at the All-Star break deadline this year in exchange for a second-round pick. It was believed that Wade was contemplating retirement and he let the Cavs' front office know his state of mind before putting in a trade request.
Overall, Wade leads his nearest competitor Udonis Haslem by 32 games through 13 and a half seasons with the franchise. Alonzo Mourning, who placed 3rd on this list, played a total of 593 games for the franchise.