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Dwyane Wade gets warm welcome, relives good times in Miami return

Dwyane Wade drives to the basket during his first game back in Miami. (Associated Press)
Dwyane Wade drives to the basket during his first game back in Miami. (Associated Press)

Dwyane Wade’s free agent move from the Miami Heat to the Chicago Bulls was one of the most surprising stories of the NBA’s offseason, not least because he seemed like such a fixture in the city and with the franchise. While accumulated sacrifices and the vagaries of contract negotiations eventually drove Wade to his hometown team, the hope was that his departure would not break what had always been a very strong relationship between the player, the team, and the fans.

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Wade’s return to Miami on Thursday night seemed to confirm that there are still plenty of good feelings to go around. The three-time NBA champion and 2006 Finals MVP came to American Airlines Arena as a member of the visiting team for the first time and received a very warm welcome from the home crowd and many ex-teammates. The Heat even announced him as part of the Bulls starting lineup in very familiar fashion:

That’s the same introduction that Wade used to receive as a member of the Heat, and the crowd was certainly willing to welcome him as one of their own. Wade also had some fun with longtime teammate Udonis Haslem right before tip:

The Heat continued the celebration during the first TV timeout with an extensive highlights video of some of Wade’s best moments in his 13 seasons with the club:

These events on the court were not the only opportunities for reflection on Wade’s career in Miami and how he came to leave town. Team president Pat Riley revealed before tipoff that he finally hit “Send” on an email to Wade about how things went down this summer. From Dave Hyde for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel:

Heat President Pat Riley said he has “reached out,” to Dwyane Wade with a long-rewritten e-mail, somewhat ending what was no communication between the two since the end of last season. […]

“I hope he got it,” Riley said 90 minutes before Wade’s Chicago Bulls played for the first time in AmericanAirlines Arena. “You know those guys changing phone numbers and e-mails …” […]

Wade said an hour before the game he had got the e-mail but hadn’t had time to read it. They both said there wasn’t any giant rift in their relationship by not talking over the summer of change.

“After 13 years together, we don’t need a talk or e-mail just to justify how we feel about each other,” Riley said.

I hope that we can all some day have the same relationship with our former shooting guards.

The game itself did not find Wade at his best — he shot 5-of-17 from the field for only 13 points with seven rebounds and four assists. However, he did make two free throws late in the fourth to help finish off a 98-95 Chicago win. This breakaway dunk brought his first two points in Miami as a Bull:


All in all, Wade’s return was about as pleasant as such games go. Credit to everyone involved for putting aside whatever differences remained and remembering what was so good about his time in South Beach.

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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at efreeman_ysports@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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