Chicago Bulls guard Dwyane Wade has apologised for making a throat-slashing gesture after hitting a game-clinching basket at the end of the NBA season-opening win over the Boston Celtics.
Wade made the gesture with his right hand after sinking the three-pointer with 26.3 seconds remaining in Thursday’s game.
“I wanna apologize to my young fans on my gesture at the end of last nights game,” Wade wrote on Twitter. “I was caught up in the emotions of my first game at home.”
Wade scored 22 points with six rebounds and five assists in his debut with the Bulls, who beat the Celtics 105-99.
“To be able to make a shot like that and help us get this win, it’s like the perfect storm,” Wade said after the game.
“When I released it, I’m not going to say I knew it was going in, because anything could happen, but I felt very good about the shot, and there was just a lot of emotion running through me. I had an out-of-body experience after that.”
Wade, 34, signed a two-year deal worth $47 million (Dh172.6m) with the Bulls in an off-season move that stunned the Miami Heat, who thought they would hang onto their free agent star.
The move brings him back to his hometown of Chicago, and he has spoken about wanting to cut down on violence in the city.
Wade played 13 seasons in Miami, scoring more than 20,000 points and earning 12 All-Star team selections.
Wade could face a sanction from the NBA for the gesture. Kevin Durant was fined $25,000 by the NBA in April 2013 for a throat-slash gesture when he was with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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