Dwyane Wade and Dirk Nowitzki bid emotional farewells to the NBA on Tuesday as the regular season neared its finale. 

Miami Heat star Wade and beloved Dallas Mavericks forward Nowitzki both played their final games at home after a combined total of nearly 40 years in the sport. 

While Wade's last home game for the Heat had been planned, Nowitzki only finally confirmed his exit on Tuesday after 21 seasons with Dallas. 

"As you guys might expect, this is my last home game," Nowitzki told the crowd at the American Airlines Center. 

"I've put you guys on a hell of a ride with a lot of ups and downs and you guys always stuck with me and supported me, and I appreciate it," the 40-year-old added. 

The German power forward is the most successful European ever to grace the NBA, ranking sixth on the all-time scorers list with more than 31,000 points. 

After watching Nowitzki become the oldest player to score 30 points in the Mavs' 120-109 defeat of Phoenix, Dallas owner Mark Cuban told the veteran forward: "I promise we'll put up the biggest, most badass statue ever." 

There was a similarly heartfelt send-off in Miami, where the Heat were eliminated from playoff contention despite beating the Philadelphia 76ers 122-99. 

"I love y'all, man," Wade told the crowd after scoring 30 points in the loss. "I thank you guys for dancing with me this year. I thank y'all for your patience this year. I thank y'all for the love," the 37-year-old three-time NBA champion said. 

“Hopefully, I created enough for this state, for the city, for the fans here, for the young kids here,” Wade said. “Hopefully, I can continue to be an inspiration for them, (after) being an individual who wasn't given everything, who the odds were stacked against. Even when I made it to the NBA, still had odds stacked against me. But I continued to believe in myself. I continued to put my head down and worked.” 

After 16 seasons as an NBA player, after three championships, an almost-annual spot in the All-Star Game, a scoring title, three franchises, four children, an Olympic gold medal and 161 teammates, the end is here. He is ready for whatever comes next. 

“I don't want this to end,” said Spoelstra, who arrived for work Tuesday wearing a shirt with a photo of the scene that followed Wade's game-winning shot against Golden State emblazoned across his chest. “I'm literally having more fun this year and last year than in any of the other years with Dwyane.” 

They are the same in so many ways, Wade and Spoelstra. Both came to the Heat as unsure young men. Both have three championship rings now. Both are likely for the Basketball Hall of Fame. When Spoelstra was promoted to head coach in April 2008, he was unsure if he'd be able to handle the job — until he met with Wade a few months later and got pumped full of confidence. 

“That's what great players do,” Spoelstra said. “You talk about Hall of Fame players, they make the other players around them better. Well, great, Hall of Fame, superstar players also make their coaches better. And that's what Dwyane did.”