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PHILADELPHIA -- About an hour after the final game of his 15th NBA season, Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade acknowledged that he has thought about retiring but said he won't make a final decision until later in the offseason. "That's not my focus," Wade said after the Heat's season-ending loss to the 76ers on Tuesday. "Fresh off this NBA season, my 15th year, I sit back and think about that. Then I dive and throw myself into my family. They're next on my bucket list, making sure I'm there for them. And when it comes to the basketball side of it, which is a long time away from now, then I'll think about that." Wade, a three-time NBA champion, had no interest in addressing his future after the Heat were eliminated in Game 5 of their first-round series against the Sixers. "I love Philly, but ain't gonna be no breaking news here in Philly," Wade said lightheartedly. "I'm sorry. I appreciate [the concern], but let me worry about that later." Wade's wife, actress Gabrielle Union, addressed the topic in a tweet after Miami's loss. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, who coached Wade to two of his three titles, said he didn't want to think about the idea of Wade walking away from the game. "I don't even want to go there. You're going to make me emotional if we start to think about that or talk about that right now," Spoelstra said. Wade was traded to Miami from Cleveland before the deadline in February. He signed with the Cavaliers in September after working out a buyout with the Chicago Bulls, with whom he spent the 2016-17 season. He spent the previous 13 seasons with the Heat. "I've loved it," Spoelstra said of Wade's return. "Each day that he's been back, I've just been trying to enjoy it. I didn't think that this would happen this year. I thought this would be one of those situations on down the line that would be a ceremonial signing to have him back. When it happened so quickly, he fit right in, and that just speaks to his humility." Wade, 36, averaged 18 points on 49 percent shooting off the bench for the Heat in the playoffs. He scored 28 points in Game 2 to lift Miami to its only win in the series. Sixers center Joel Embiid said he embraced Wade at the end of the series in case Wade decides to retire. "I had to pay my respects because I don't know if this is it or if he has another year, but he's a great and a Hall of Famer," Embiid said. Wade was complimentary of the young Sixers after the series. "I think they grew up and learned some things from us and the way we pushed them," Wade said. "You want to see good things. I mean, these guys are the future of the NBA, and the NBA is in great hands with Ben [Simmons] and Joel and those guys."
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