The Heat's celebration of Dwyane Wade's jersey retirement will consist of a "three-day series of events, dubbed the 'L3GACY Celebration,'" according to David Wilson of the MIAMI HERALD. The celebration begins Feb. 21 at AmericanAirlines Arena with "The Flashback" event at 8:00pm ET. The event is open only to season-ticket holders, but it will be "broadcast live" on FS Sun and WAXY-AM. Wade's No. 3 jersey then will be "retired at halftime" of the Cavaliers-Heat game on Feb. 22. Wade and ESPN Films the following night will debut a documentary about Wade at the arena. The Heat said the film "chronicles the star's life on and off the court with never-before-seen footage." Wilson notes tickets for the screening go on sale Jan. 17 at 10:00am for $3 at Heat.com, with proceeds for the event "benefiting the Wade's World Foundation." The documentary is a co-production between ESPN and Imagine Documentaries, directed by Bob Metelus (MIAMI HERALD, 1/8). Wade will "become the fifth Heat player to have his jersey retired," joining Alonzo Mourning (No. 33), Tim Hardaway (No. 10), Shaquille O'Neal (No. 32) and Chris Bosh (No. 1). The team also has retired No. 23 in honor of Michael Jordan, who never played for the franchise (South Florida SUN SENTINEL, 1/8).
STAYING ON BRAND: ESPN’s Rachel Nichols called the multi-day celebration "so Heat" and said, "There’s no one better for them to do it for.” ESPN’s Brian Windhorst noted the Heat handled Wade's final season, called "One Last Dance," "so awesome last year.” He said, “I can’t wait to see what they have cooked up” (“The Jump,” ESPN, 1/7).
