LOS ANGELES (REUTERS) - Dwyane Wade kept his fans waiting to almost the cusp of NBA training camp, but in an emotional video, he told them what they wanted to hear.

"I feel like it's right to ask you guys to join me for one last dance, for one last season," he said about his decision to return to the Miami Heat for a 16th NBA season.

Wade, a 36-year-old free agent, had previously said it was either play for the Heat this season or retire, and he opted for the former.

"This is it. I've given this game everything that I have, and I'm happy about that. I'm going to give it for one last season, everything else I have left,"he said in the 10-minute video titled "One Last Dance ..." and posted on YouTube on Sunday (Sept 16).

The 12-time All-Star played his first 13 seasons with the Heat before signing with the Chicago Bulls for 2016-17. He started the 2017-18 season with the Cleveland Cavaliers before being traded back to Miami for the final 21 games of the season.

Wade holds career averages of 22.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.6 steals per game. He averaged 12.0 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game coming off the bench for the Heat last season.

He was a key part of three NBA championship teams in Miami, the first alongside Shaquille O'Neal in 2006 and then two with LeBron James and Chris Bosh, in 2012 and 2013. Wade was the NBA Finals MVP in 2006.

Wade was selected to the NBA All-Defensive team three times, and he won the league's scoring championship in 2008-09 when he averaged 30.2 points.

Wade reportedly received a three-year, US$25 million (S$34 million) offer to play this summer for the Zhejiang Golden Bulls in China.

Wade's return leaves the Heat with 20 players, the maximum, on their training camp roster.