Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade will have his jersey raised into the rafters on Saturday night at AmericanAirlines Arena as the Heat host one of Wade’s other NBA teams, the Cleveland Cavaliers, part of a three-day celebration in Miami.
On Friday night, many of Wade’s former teammates and coaches honored him at an event the Heat called “The Flashback,” and while Wade’s close friend LeBron James wasn’t able to attend, James recorded a video message for Wade, and joked that he shouldn’t really be congratulating Wade on having his jersey retired, as it was destined to happen as soon as Miami drafted him. James instead tried to choose which signature Wade pose the Heat should immortalize with a statue outside the arena.
"When's that statue gonna go outside American Airlines Arena?"đź‘€
A message from @KingJames during #L3GACY Celebration. pic.twitter.com/frmUQ9E1pq
— FOX Sports Sun: HEAT (@FOXSportsHEAT) February 22, 2020
“My brother D-Wade, I just want to say congratulations to you man on getting your jersey retired. I mean, am I really sitting here congratulating you on something that we both knew was going to happen when we were sitting at pre-Draft in Chicago? I feel like as soon as the Miami Heat drafted you and said Dwyane Wade out of Marquette that the name and the jersey was going up in the rafters. I think it was inevitable.
I mean I really should be sitting here wondering like ‘when’s that statue going to go outside AmericanAirlines Arena?’ Which one is it going to be? Is it going to be the Flash dunk that you did in the Finals when you won your first championship? I don’t know, nah, maybe not that one. Is it the one where you stand on top of the scoreboard and you say ‘this my house’? Or maybe it’s the one where you keep pulling yourself up on the rim right there pregame before the game starts.”
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