Dwyane Wade attended his first NBA game as a spectator since retiring on Friday night, as he made the trip to Staples Center to watch his Miami Heat go up against LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers. Wade, who was seated along the baseline, wondered how it would feel being that close to the action again, but says he now knows for sure he is at peace with his retirement.
The future Hall of Famer posted the following on instagram after the Lakers' 95-80 victory.
"As i walked into Staples last night to watch the @miamiheat vs @lakers i didn’t know how i would feel. Being my first game watching live since my retirement. I can honestly say i didn’t have the urge to play last night. I know for a fact now that I am peacefully retired."
Prior to Friday night's matchup, D-Wade spoke with Heat players about the culture of the organization, and how proud he is of the way they've "carried the torch" so far this season. In an interview with Miami Heat reporter Jason Jackson, Wade explained (H/T Heat Nation):
“We preach culture and a lot of people hear that word,” Wade told Jackson. “They hear that word but they don’t really know what it means. So I wanted to go in today and talk a little bit about that word “culture” and express to them that before I stepped away, me and U.D. (Udonis Haslem) had conversations about that. There was a little nervousness on our side of who’s gonna carry the torch of the culture.
“I wanted to tell the guys how proud I am of them for carrying that torch. I know it’s only eight games in but, as a fan of the game, as one of the old heads that played in that same jersey, they’re doing a hell of a job of carrying that culture forward, moving it forward and representing Miami Heat the way us former legends of Miami love to do.”
The Heat, 6-3, will host the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night, followed by a road game in Cleveland on Thursday.