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By the numbers: Where Wade could finish on all-time NBA lists

Mark Brown / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Save the last dance for Dwyane Wade in South Beach.

The 36-year-old is getting his retirement tour, as Wade announced Sunday night that he'll be returning to the Miami Heat for "one last dance" before calling it a career.

His place in Springfield as a future first-ballot Hall of Famer has long been cemented, but it's not as though the 12-time All-Star has nothing left to play for, outside of (an unlikely) fourth championship win.

Here's a look at where Wade ranks in a number of all-time statistical categories and where he could potentially end up when it's all said and done.

Points

Rank Player PTS
27 Robert Parish 23334
28 Adrian Dantley 23177
29 Elgin Baylor 23149
30 Clyde Drexler 22195
31 Dwyane Wade 22082

Last season marked Wade's first since his rookie year that he failed to score at least 1,000 points, totaling 765 across 67 appearances with both the Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers.

Barring a catastrophic injury early in the campaign, it's safe to assume he'll at least pass Drexler to eek into the top 30. Beyond that, it's not a given that Wade will get the 1,068 points he needs to jump both Baylor and Dantley, especially if he continues to be a reserve under head coach Erik Spoelstra.

Points (Playoffs)

Rank Player Points
6 Tim Duncan 5172
7 Karl Malone 4761
8 Jerry West 4457
9 Tony Parker 4045
10 Dwyane Wade 3954

Wade dropped 83 points across five games in the opening round against the Philadelphia 76ers last season. He currently trails Parker for ninth place all-time by 91 points.

His role will likely increase again in such pivotal games, as long as Miami qualifies for the third time in four years. Parker's Charlotte Hornets will be hard-pressed to secure a top-eight seed in the Eastern Conference, giving Wade a fighter's chance to move up.

Assists

Rank Player Assists
46 Mike Bibby 5517
47 Dennis Johnson 5499
48 Kevin Garnett 5445
49 Jason Terry 5415
50 Dwyane Wade 5400

Only 377 dimes separate spots No. 40 through 50, but Wade has reached that number on four occasions.

Wade's 65 total assists (3.1 per contest in 21 games) translates to 195 in 63 games, which is a conservative estimate of how many games fans can expect him to suit up for. That number would get Wade to 46th place, jumping four players (one active) in the process.

Steals

Rank Player Steals
31 Jason Terry 1603
32 Andre Iguodala 1602
33 Terry Porter 1583
34 Doc Rivers 1563
35 Dwyane Wade 1561

Wade's 61 steals in 2017-18 were his lowest ever.

Simply matching that output defensively would tie him with Hersey Hawkins for 27th, although Terry and Iguodala are still playing and should boost their respective steal numbers to keep Wade at bay.

Free Throws

Rank Player Free Throws
20 Shaquille O'Neal 5935
21 Carmelo Anthony 5900
22 Tim Duncan 5896
23 Elgin Baylor 5763
24 Dwyane Wade 5543

In his prime, very few guards in the Association could maneuver their way through defenders and down the center of the lane to create contact quite like Wade.

There's not much wiggle room to climb the all-time free throws list, unfortunately, as Wade trails Baylor by 220 makes.

(Statistics courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com)

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