MIAMI – Wearing a "I feel like Flash" t-shirt, Dwyane Wade spoke Friday for the first time since returning to the Miami Heat in a stunning deadline day trade.
"I wasn't planning on coming here until March, late March," Wade said with a smile on his face. "The one thing I always say about the NBA is that you never know what's going to happen."
Wade said that he always expected to come back to the team that drafted him in 2003, but didn't expect it would be so soon.
"It's definitely something that I envisioned for myself one day, just didn't know it would come right now, but I think the timing is perfect." said Wade.
The Heat traded a second-round pick in 2024 for Wade's second stint with the Heat, two years after he left the team following a run which led to three NBA titles.
"Never leave a place and throw shade on anyone or anything because you're not there," Wade said about the homecoming. "You leave with grace and you never know what can happen."
Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said Wade is expected to play Friday night vs. the Bucks, but will come off the bench.
Here's a glance at Dwyane Wade's basketball career coming full circle, from Marquette to Miami and back again.
No. 3 spent 13 seasons with the Heat, leading Miami to three NBA titles. He left to play for his hometown Chicago Bulls in 2016 before signing with the Cavaliers last year.
Back in a familiar place!@DwyaneWade & Luke Babbitt hit the @AAarena practice gym this morning. Take a look at their first on-court action since re-joining the squad. The #R3TURN #BabbittBack pic.twitter.com/XEltCLXTAj
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) February 9, 2018