By Thursday, Dwyane Wade may not be employed as a basketball player anymore.
That is the reality, like it or not. After 16 seasons as an NBA player, after three championships, an almost-annual spot in the All-Star Game, a scoring title, three franchises, four children, an Olympic gold medal and 161 team-mates, the end may have arrived.
On Tuesday, Wade plays his final home regular season game when the Miami Heat host the Philadelphia 76ers. On Wednesday, it'll be a game at Brooklyn to end this season. Unless the Heat win both and get a lot of help in the final two days of the season, the career of Dwyane Tyrone Wade Jr will be finished.
Miami Heat's Dwyane Wade is preparing himself for his final ever game in the NBA
The 37-year-old held a 'One Last Dance' dinner to celebrate his 16 years in the NBA
American rapper Rick Ross was among the stars to attend the dinner on Monday night
Former team-mates Chris Bosh and Jimmy Butler pose either side of the retiring Wade
2003–2016 Miami Heat
2016–2017 Chicago Bulls
2017–2018 Cleveland Cavaliers
2018–present Miami Heat
3× NBA champion (2006, 2012, 2013)
NBA Finals MVP (2006)
13× NBA All-Star (2005–2016, 2019)
NBA All-Star Game MVP (2010)
'I gave this game everything I had,' Wade said. 'And I have appreciated every bit of it.'
The Heat still have a faint pulse in the playoff race; out of the 64 possible remaining scenarios involving Brooklyn, Orlando, Detroit, Charlotte and Miami over the next two days — the five teams still vying for various spots on the bracket, with the Nets and Magic being assured of getting into the postseason no matter what — there are only three that will send Wade into the postseason.
Obviously, the odds are not good.
That is why Tuesday is generally viewed as the farewell, even though no one will officially describe it as such. He doesn't want it to be the end – but is acutely aware that it may be the 576th and final time he plays at AmericanAirlines Arena, all but one of those coming in a Heat uniform.
'It's been incredible. It's been amazing,' Wade said. 'A lot of people in that arena have watched me grow, have watched me be imperfect, have watched me make a lot of mistakes in life, as well as watched me blossom and watched me do amazing things, great things. I'm thankful for it.'
Tributes will come on Tuesday in various forms. There is a pre-game series of events inside the arena. There will be videos. Wade will address the crowd. Celebrities are expected. Wade's children will all be in attendance. Students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High, the school where the February 14, 2018 massacre that left 17 dead in an event that touched Wade so deeply — not just because
