One Last Dance: Let the Dwyane Wade Goodbye Tour begin
The 2003 NBA Draft is one of the best draft classes in the history of the league. Players from that class have gone on to become superstars. They have made their name and went on to win championships. One of the players from the class has established himself as one of the best players to play the game of basketball.
The Draft class was well known for the high-school phenom in LeBron James. But, the draft class also had players such as Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Kyle Korver, David West, and Dwyane Wade, most of whom have gone on to win multiple championships,.
Even though the best player of the draft was LeBron, he was not the first one to lead his team to a championship. It was Dwyane Wade. In his third year as a pro, he along with Hall of Famers Shaquille O'Neal and Gary Payton were able to bring home the championship to Miami in 2006 as they defeated Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks in six games.
D-Wade, who went on to be named the Finals MVP, averaged 34.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.7 steals while shooting 46.8% from the field.
Before he became a champion with Miami Heat, he was playing college basketball at Marquette University where he faced some problems with ineligibility and had to sit out his first year. Miami’s coach, the legendary Pat Riley drafted him and made him the face of the franchise, in turn, Wade proved to Pat that he was championship caliber with his performance in the 2006 Finals
One might say that he was surrounded with great talent in two future Hall of Famers in Gary Payton and Shaquille O’Neal. However, he played a vital role in Miami Heat landing the best free agents in 2010 free agency class when they created a 3 headed monster in D-Wade, Chris Bosh and LeBron James.
The newly formed big-3 then went on to dominate the league for next 4 years making to the finals 4 years in a row. They did manage to bring two more championships to Miami giving Dwyane Wade the legendary status in the league as he transitioned into a player loved by his peers.
Wade had to make a decision at the end of last season. After playing 15 seasons in the NBA, it was time for him to choose whether to retire or to keep on playing. He decided to play one last year. In his video announcement, he said that this was going to be the last dance for him.
This season the league will say goodbye to a legend. The Miami Heat franchise would not have been this relevant had if not been for D-Wade. Yes, there were other factors involved in the franchise becoming a dynasty under him. However, one cannot simply forget his contribution towards the team and what a teammate he has been over the years.
Miami Heat's focus will be on getting to the playoffs again, and they will be looking to see off a legend of the franchise in fitting fashion. Let the goodbye tour of Dwyane Wade begin!