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Dwyane Wade echoes Kobe in Heat jersey retirement
MIAMI -- In the arena he made "his house" and the county nicknamed after him, Dwyane Wade stared up at the rafters with a wide grin as his No. 3 jersey was lifted to its rightful place.
Dressed in an all-black, suit-and-shirt combination, Wade stood at center court at halftime and delivered a powerful, emotional speech. He gave thanks to his family; Pat Riley; Erik Spoelstra; his late agent, Henry Thomas; Heat Nation; and former teammates and coaches among others, but maybe his most impactful message came in his final words, which included a tribute to the late Kobe Bryant.
"Kobe said the most important thing is to try to inspire others so they can be great in whatever they try to do," Wade recalled to a capacity Heat crowd on Saturday night. "I hope I inspired you. Thank you for making me a part of your legacy. Please know you're a huge part of mine."
After the ceremony, he expanded on his remarks about Bryant, saying, "The impact that the passing of Kobe has done on myself and so many others is it's made us sit down and stop. Life goes so fast. We move at a rapid pace. It's made me enjoy the moment more. It's made me want to create more memories. It definitely put a lot of things in perspective. As athletes, we're looked at as superheroes. We looked at Kobe as a superhero. That moment has touched all of us and will continue to.
"Kobe was leading the way -- he retired and showed us in his next act after retirement that you can master that, as well. He mastered basketball, he mastered being an amazing father, he mastered being a husband, he mastered being a creator. He was showing us the way, and now we don't have that. So I do have a responsibility to be that guy and show the way for the next generation."
In the midst of a three-night celebration of his career, Wade declared that after this weekend concludes with the airing of his documentary, "D. Wade: Life Unexpected," on ESPN on Sunday night, it will mark the end of "basketball Dwyane Wade."
As Wade walked onto the court for his jersey-retirement ceremony, he turned to his oldest son, Zaire, and said: "This is it. I'm getting out of your way now."
Wade is the fifth Heat player to have his jersey lifted to the rafters, but hearing American Airlines Arena erupt with cheers made it clear that Wade is second to no one in this city.
A three-time champion, a Finals MVP and a future first-ballot Hall of Famer, Wade is arguably the greatest athlete in South Florida history. But he resonated in this market because he was more than just an athlete. He felt human and superhuman at the same time.
"I hope their memories of me were of someone who gave everything he had on the basketball court, someone who was unselfish, someone who did it the right way, did it his way," Wade said. "[Someone] who in the midst of doing it his way made sure he uplifted others, empowered others, brought others along the journey. When I came into this game, all I wanted was respect. I wanted respect for the way I play the game. You don't know until it's over if that respect is there. The last year and a half, I felt that everything I tried to give the game, the game has given back to me. Hopefully, it's motivation and inspiration for so many kids and families out there.
"If I'm the face of anything in this world, I'm the face of imperfection. I'm the face of falling down but getting back up. I want that message for the kids. What I share in my documentary, I want that to ring loud and clear. None of us are perfect. But it's how we come back from mistakes, how we come back from when we fall and get back up that determine who we are."
On the court, the current Heat team did its best to impress Wade, setting a franchise record for most points (82) in a half in the opening two quarters Saturday evening. The Heat led the Cleveland Cavaliers 82-52 at half, their first 30-point halftime lead since 2010, before cruising to a 124-105 win.
Heat president Pat Riley and Wade shared a special moment during the ceremony. Riley called Wade onstage with a passionate but succinct closing: "Dwyane, it's all yours, my man. I love you."
Wade then proceeded to open his speech by claiming that Riley knew he had to select Wade in the 2003 draft once the Marquette guard put up a triple-double against Riley's Kentucky Wildcats in the Elite Eight.
Wade's words about Spoelstra were also special, as he spoke about early head-butting between the two strong personalities that later became a strong, lifelong bond. He talked about how much he appreciated that journey.
Spoelstra spent a few moments Saturday evening before the game reminiscing about his time with Wade.
"He has all the qualities of a champion, a winner, a Hall of Fame player and talent, but his humanity, empathy and ability to articulate his feelings separates him from everyone else," Spoelstra said. "It was hard not to get emotion at halftime. It was awesome for our players to see that."
Wade said he got texts earlier Saturday from young stars such as Donovan Mitchell and Devin Booker, thanking him for paving the way for them. Wade smiled. That's part of his legacy.
"I'm most proud that I've inspired different generations to want to be better, to want to be greater, to want to do things they never thought they would," Wade said. "My goal is to bring people with me and lift others up along the way. That's legacy. When you're able to change someone's life and help their families have generational wealth. It's not how many points I score or how many times I dunk the ball. That's not legacy to me. Legacy to me is how much change I can create."
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