During Tuesday night’s game against the Atlanta Hawks, Miami Heat’s veteran shooting guard Dwyane Wade stepped out onto the court wearing a pair of Li-Ning “The Way of Wade” 7’s with the words “RIP Sean Taylor” written on the toe cap.

Heat’s Wade Honors Late NFL Safety

It has been exactly 11 years since NFL star safety Sean Taylor died after being shot protecting his family from burglars in his home.

Wade was still playing for the Heat at the time, and surely felt the impact Taylor’s loss had on the Miami community.

It’s a kind gesture for the superstar to recognize Taylor on such an emotional day for his friends and family.

After growing up in the city and playing both high school and college football in Miami, Sean Taylor became a Florida legend after helping the Hurricanes defeat Nebraska 37-14 in the 2001 National Championship.

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Many sports experts and historians consider the 2001 Hurricanes as the greatest team in college football history. Miami beat opponents by an average of 32.9 points per game, the largest margin in the school’s history, and set the NCAA record for largest margin of victory over consecutive ranked teams (124–7).

Not only did Taylor’s death in 2007 rock his legion of fans in Miami, but it had a huge impact on the sports world at large.

Small acts like these help to keep Taylor’s memory and legacy alive. While it will never get easier for those closest to him, it’s always cool to see other athletes taking the time to honor a special player and a special man.

The Toronto Raptors defeated the Miami Heat 95-91 in Game 3 on Saturday to take a 2-1 series lead.

Canadians Upset After Dwyane Wade Takes Shots During National Anthem

Dwyane Wade led the Heat with 38 points, although the three-time champion is now under fire after cameras showed him taking a few extra shots while a singer performed the Canadian national anthem, “O Canada,” in the middle of AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami before the start of the game.

Wade, 34, responded to the criticism on Sunday, defending himself and saying he meant no disrespect.

“You’re always sensitive to anything throughout the world,” he said. “I’m not thinking about nothing like that. I’m thinking about what I need to do before every game that I prepare for and have been doing my whole career. I understand whatever’s said from that standpoint, but I’m not a disrespectful person. If anybody thinks I’m being disrespectful to their country, then they have no idea who Dwyane Wade is.

“No disrespect from myself or Amar’e (Stoudemire) or anybody. If anybody feels like it was, please don’t fill up my timeline with disrespectful comments, because that’s not this guy right here. Find somebody else with that.”

Given that this does not exactly sound like an apology, this is surely not the last we’ll hear of this story. The Heat and the Raptors will face off again for Game 4 on Monday night in Miami.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWIhq65KKdQ

The last time something like this happened in the NBA was in 1996, when former Denver Nuggets point guard Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf was famously suspended one game for failing to “stand and line up in a dignified posture” during the national anthem.

CHARLOTTE, NC – APRIL 29: Dwyane Wade #3 of the Miami Heat brings the ball up the court against the Charlotte Hornets during game six of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals of the 2016 NBA Playoffs at Time Warner Cable Arena on April 29, 2016 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

A big story this offseason is whether or not Dwayne Wade will remain a Miami Heat. With the ability to opt out of his current contract, Wade believes he could and should be offered more money by the team he has called home for the last 12 seasons.

And with the Monday deadline approaching and neither side budging, Wade decided to opt out of his contract, which would have paid him $16.1 million in 2015-16 and left him an unrestricted free agent after the season.

Dwayne Wade Opts Out

Like Mickey Mantle with the Yankees or Michael Jordan with the Bulls, Wade is synonymous with the Miami franchise. So it is awfully troubling to see the standstill that the two sides are currently at.

The three-time NBA Champion believes he should be making more money. He reportedly wants a contract worth around $16 million per year for the next three seasons, according to ESPN. This would somewhat compensate him for the amount he sacrificed over the years — he has taken pay cuts to enable the Heat to bring in free agents.

On the other side, Miami wants some flexibility with the cap, which is basically the opposite of the Kobe Bryant and Lakers situation. They could use the extra cash for the 2016 free agency pool, which has a deep class with Kevin Durant, Roy Hibbert, Anthony Davis and Joakim Noah.

It is a tough situation. Pat Riley does not want a repeat LeBron James incident,  but Wade has recently missed a lot of playing time: over the last four seasons, he has only played in 234 of a possible 328 games, specifically missing 48 over the last two seasons. Mix this with the way Bryant handcuffed the Lakers and it is understandable why Riley is hesitant to sign Wade.

Still, Wade is the face of that franchise. He has brought them three championships — its first ever in 2006 — and is the Heat’s all-time leader in points, field goals, steals and assists. Simply, there is going to be an awful lot of pressure, specifically from the fans, to re-sign him.