Dwyane Wade returning to Heat for 'one last dance'

Dwyane Wade will be in a Miami Heat uniform again next season, the NBA veteran announced.

Wade – a 12-time All-Star – appeared in just 46 games for the Cleveland Cavaliers before he was dealt back to the Heat in February.

The 36-year-old guard, who averaged 12 points per game for Miami after the trade, had been contemplating retirement this offseason.

But, 2006 NBA Finals MVP Wade announced on Sunday in a Youtube video he was returning to Miami for "one last dance".

One Last Dance. https://t.co/amr0xjgDun pic.twitter.com/flRbAK6X8m

— DWade (@DwyaneWade) September 17, 2018

"This is the hardest decisions that I've ever had to make," Wade said in the video. "I've gotten here because I've done things because the way that I feel that is right for me, that is right for my family. And what I feel is right is to ask you guys to join me for one last dance, one last season.

"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 … when I walk away, I'm still going to love it."

Wade said his decision to play in 2018-19 was "bigger than the game of basketball".

"This decision don't have nothing to do with the talent that I have in my body," he added. "Yeah, I'm not as quick as I used to be. Yeah, I don't jump as high as I used to … but there's things in this game that I have that I can write a book on, that I can still do, that I can still accomplish."

Wade spent the first 13 seasons of his career with the Heat, winning three championships.

He played for the Chicago Bulls in 2016 and signed a one-year, $2.3million contract with the Cavaliers last September.

After returning to Miami, the Heat fell to the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the 2017-18 playoffs. Wade averaged 16.6 points per game in that series.