Dwyane Wade to sit out All-Star Game due to hamstring injury

An ailing hamstring apparently won't be enough to keep Dwyane Wade from traveling to Cleveland and chumming it up with good buddy LeBron James when the Miami Heat play the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday.

It will, however, keep him out of this Sunday's NBA All-Star game, the team announced Tuesday.

"I owed it to the Heat fans to play in their jersey first," Wade said of his decision to sit out.

Commissioner Adam Silver will now have to choose Wade's replacement. Wade is already campaigning for Milwaukee Bucks point guard Brandon Knight to get his spot.

It was initially reported that Wade wouldn't travel to Cleveland, but after taking part in practice Tuesday, he opted to make the trip. He won't, however, be playing on Wednesday.

"I could play (tomorrow vs Cleveland) but it would not be the smart thing to do," he said. "We have a run to make after the All-Star break to solidify a playoff seed."

Wade has already missed 16 games, hamstring strains being the chief culprit. He's averaging 21.4 points and 5.4 assists for the 22-29 Heat, who sit a game up on the Brooklyn Nets for the Eastern Conference's eighth and final playoff seed.