After a tumultuous negotiation process, Dwyane Wade decided to leave the Heat and sign with his hometown Chicago Bulls in the offseason.
Although the Heat would re-acquire Wade via a trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers a season later, his departure made Udonis Haslem the new longest tenured player on the roster, as Haslem first joined the Heat in August 2003, a month after Wade did.
Furthermore, Chris Bosh missed the entire season and had thought about potentially retiring altogether due to his continuous blood clots.
After spending the next 2 seasons as a free agent, Bosh would later announce his retirement from the NBA on February 12, 2019.
They entered game 82 needing a loss from either the Pacers or the Bulls and a victory over the Wizards.