Updated

MIAMI (Reuters) - Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh will team up for the Miami Heat after the two free agents ended months of speculation about their futures by confirming their plans for next season.

Wade turned down the chance to return to his hometown Chicago by agreeing to re-sign with the Heat for an eighth season while Bosh agreed to join him in Miami after spending the last seven seasons with the Toronto Raptors.

"I'm joining Mr. Wade in Miami," Bosh said in an interview aired on ESPN. "We've wanted to play with each other and we have a golden opportunity to do that so we're going to take advantage of it."

The pair, who were courted by several teams after becoming free agents at the end of the last season, played together on the United States team that won the men's basketball gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and wanted to rekindle their partnership.

"I'm back in Miami," Wade said in the interview. "I got to play with (Shaquille O'Neal) and that was phenomenal and now I get to play with Chris right when he hits his prime so right now I am one of the luckiest men in the NBA."

Their announcements helped solve part of the riddle about the likely shape of next year's championship, but the big question still centers around where LeBron James will play next season.

James, who also played on the U.S. team that won Olympic gold, has received offers from at least five teams trying to lure him away from the Cleveland Cavaliers and plans to reveal his decision in a one-hour television broadcast on Thursday.

"Of course, we would love for LeBron to join Miami -- who wouldn't?" Wade said. "But at the same time, LeBron is going to make his own decision."

(Writing by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Julian Linden)