The Miami Heat and the Big Three were heavy favorites to win in 2011. Despite winning the first two games and having a lead, the Heatles couldn’t keep up and ended up losing the Finals. Winning the Finals MVP title, German player Dirk Nowitzki was largely responsible for flipping the game and defeating Dwyane Wade‘s squad. But that is not the game Wade wishes to return to. It’s another epic battle for his hometown that the 3x NBA champ would revisit if given one chance.

After the end of a glorious NBA career, there is one year Wade wishes to go back and it’s his time with the Chicago Bulls. Interesting right? Wade spent more than a decade with the Miami Heat. Speaking on the Just Win podcast with Chris Johnson, Wade mentioned his run with the Bulls while teaming up with Jimmy Butler and Rajon Rondo.

“I come back in for the playoffs and then now this our first time now we all on the court together and we win the first two games on a row in Boston in the garden in the playoffs versus number one seed. Y’all got lucky you got lucky,” Wade noted. During his one year, there were a lot of changes in the starting lineup due to injuries that concerned Rando. But Wade is confident about his wish. 

“Right now if someone say ‘do you can get one season back of your NBA career’ I’m actually going to get that one back that one. Not the ones with the Heat that we lost in the final I feel like we should have won. I’m going to get that one back because that was the one that no one expected anything. I’m like oh we got the perfect Squad right now for this!” Wade shared.

Even though the top-seeded Celtics ultimately won, the eighth-seeded Bulls were not an easy opponent, having taken the lead by winning the first two matchups. With Butler, Rondo, and Wade, this was perhaps one of the best teams. If only the players had remained healthy, the team would have had immense potential. However, the Celtics won the next four games and advanced.

Perhaps this is why Wade chose his hometown over the Miami Heat, whom he had left following a painful situation. And well, it wasn’t because of his rift with Pat Riley.

Dwyane Wade opened up about the time he left Miami Heat

Back in 2016, the Heat had offered Wade a deal worth $20 million for two years. While the offer was later increased to $40 million, the Flash felt that the team he had led to three championships didn’t respect him enough. This led the veteran player to sign with the Bulls for a $47.5 million deal.

“So with the Heat, I ain’t f— with them at that time. I didn’t like how they handled me and so I had to go… It’s certain things that I have to look at of how I’m being treated, how I’m being respected, and all these things and I just didn’t feel that was given back to me at that time in my career,” Wade said on The OG’s podcast. Riley had also opened up on this.

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Wade mentioned that he had a chance to return to the Heat in 2016. However, he chose to play for the Cleveland Cavaliers instead. “Now the Cleveland portion of it, alright, I still was in my feelings. It took me a little while to get out. I ain’t gonna lie to y’all I could have came back to Miami after Chicago but I was like, ‘Nah, I ain’t there yet,” He added.

Finally, in 2018, the Cavaliers traded Wade back to the Miami Heat. It took Wade a long time to reconcile with the Heat and his feelings. However, he finally has a great relationship with the franchise now. As a sign of respect, the franchise has also honored Wade by making him the first Heat player to have his statue installed. But it appears that if he could turn back time, he’d do it for his hometown.