There is only one loser here.
Dwyane Wade has one last cute moment on the court, crashing into a few celebrity friends along the sideline.
Chrissy Teigen and John Legend, although down one beer, are up one viral moment, an NBA superstar sharing a brief encounter with them during his goodbye to his fiercely loyal Miami fans.
Hell, even the Miami Herald wins, getting the shot of the year and all that coveted #SocialMediaEngagement.
The loser? The truth.
This was the 541st regular-season home game at AmericanAirlines Arena for Wade, a court he has stepped on countless times. No one knows the nooks and crannies, the angles, the court-feel like the most beloved athlete in Miami. The 37-year-old has used his feints, his hesitations, his half-step-ahead advantage for his entire, illustrious 15-year career. With a deftness, he knows where he’s going.
And he was heading right toward his famous pals. This was not a loose-ball, sacrifice-my-body-for-possession dive into the stands. With Derek Jeter watching (and feeling the Miami heat), this did not recall his 2004 plunge into the stands.
In a game that was meaningless for the 76ers and a game the Heat led comfortably throughout, this was contrived.
Wade ambled and dribbled down the left side of the court, positioning himself just so. He squared up, Philadelphia’s Haywood Highsmith barely caring if he became Wade’s latest victim. He took a 3 that he had taken thousands of times, but turned it into a fadeaway, back-pedaling not one, not two, not three, but four steps and landing right on Teigen and Legend, right next to his wife, Gabrielle Union.
Yes, a beautiful moment, and one that Legend and Teigen almost certainly weren’t in on. But yes, for Wade, a premeditated one.