The Miami Heat are in Los Angeles to face the Lakers on Monday evening and the game doubles as the final trip of Dwyane Wade’s career. The future Hall of Fame guard was captured working out alongside old friend and teammate LeBron James prior to the festivities but, after the game tipped off at Staples Center, the Lakers elected to play a tribute video for Wade during a break in the first quarter.
The Lakers gave D-Wade a tribute video. Respect. pic.twitter.com/k8WMgOEXBH
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 11, 2018
It isn’t necessarily conventional to see an opposing team provide a video like this for a player that never donned their uniform but, in this particular case, it is both fitting and cool. Wade is on the (very) short list of best shooting guards in the history of the NBA and, even if he did not play for the Lakers, it is well within the norm to recognize his individual brilliance with a look such as this — not to mention his friendship with the Lakers’ top star.
The Lakers are seen as one of the league’s flagship franchises and, with that as the backdrop, the franchise would seemingly recognize the kind of greatness put forth by Wade over the last decade and a half. It probably helps that he is quite friendly with the Lakers’ best player but, in truth, it probably shouldn’t matter and every NBA city giving Wade a tribute on the way out would feel appropriate.
