Dwyane Wade

Basketball Player

• Born: January 17, 1982
• Place of Birth: Chicago, Illinois

SPORT: Basketball

Early Life

Dwyane Tyrone Wade Jr. grew up with his father, stepmother, older sister Tragil, and older stepbrother Demetrius in Oak Lawn, Illinois. He credits Tragil with raising him and instilling the values that guided his later life. Wade followed Demetrius, the basketball team's star player, to H. L. Richards High School in Oak Lawn.

Wade lacked the size and skill to get much playing time his first two years in high school. In the summer before his junior year, he worked many hours developing his game. He also grew four inches, reaching a height of more than six feet tall.

After Demetrius graduated, Coach Jack Fitzgerald decided to make Wade the centerpiece of the high school basketball team. Wade had the size and skills to match his passion and intelligence for basketball. From breaking pressure defenses to scoring, rebounding, and setting up his teammates, Wade provided whatever the team needed. In his junior year, he averaged 20.7 points and 7.6 rebounds.

Between his junior and senior years, Wade played with the Amateur Athletic Union Illinois Warriors, the state’s top amateur squad. This experience helped Wade improve his game. In his senior year, he averaged 27 points and 11 rebounds per game and led his team to a 24–5 record.

Marquette Golden Eagles

Despite his success with the Warriors, Wade attracted little interest from major colleges. Past problems in school, including a low American College Test (ACT) score, caused schools to question whether he would qualify academically to play. Marquette University assistant coach Tim Buckley greatly admired Wade as a player and a person. Therefore, he persuaded head coach Tom Crean to accept Wade as a partial qualifier who could practice with the team but not suit up for games.

In his sophomore year, Wade was given the opportunity to play and was successful, averaging 17.8 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game. He also led the team in steals and blocked shots, and his 571 total points that year set a sophomore school record. He led Marquette to a 26–7 record, its best in nearly ten years. Despite high hopes for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Basketball Tournament, Marquette was eliminated by Tulsa in the first round. Still, Wade’s excellent season earned him first-team, all-Conference USA and honorable-mention all-American.

Not satisfied, Wade worked on the shortcomings of his game, particularly his outside jump shot. In the 2002–3 season, he improved his statistics to 21.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game and led Marquette to a 27–6 record.

Wade saved his best for the NCAA tournament. His effort against top-ranked Kentucky was excellent. His output of 29 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists was only the third “triple-double” in NCAA tournament history. It put Marquette in the Final Four, where the team lost to Kansas. Wade’s excellence garnered him all-American honors and numerous other awards. He decided to forego his senior year and enter the National Basketball Association (NBA) Draft.

Miami Heat

The Miami Heat picked Wade fifth overall in the 2003 NBA Draft. He had an excellent rookie year despite being overshadowed during the regular season by two of the best rookies in NBA history, LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony. However, Wade elevated his game in the playoffs and led Miami past the New Orleans Hornets in the first round after hitting the game-winning shot in game one. Because of this, he helped the Heat push the heavily favored Indiana Pacers to six games.

With Wade getting better every game and with the acquisition of Shaquille O’Neal, the Miami Heat made it to the 2004–5 Eastern Conference Finals and took a 3–2 lead on the Detroit Pistons. Wade played spectacular basketball throughout the playoffs, averaging nearly 30 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists per game. However, injuries forced him out of game six, seriously impairing what he could do in game seven, and the Pistons rallied to win the series.

In 2005–6, Wade had a remarkable season, averaging 27.2 points, 6.7 assists, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.95 steals per game. He also made the game-winning shot in the NBA All-Star Game. He was at his best for the playoffs, with one of the most memorable performances in NBA history. He compiled incredible numbers and elevated his game in virtually every situation. After losing the first two games of the NBA Finals to the Dallas Mavericks, Miami was down 13 points in the fourth quarter of game three. Wade led a 22–7 run that turned the game and the series around. Miami won the NBA Championship in six games, and Wade was unanimously voted the series MVP.

Wade was impacted by severe injuries in the 2006–7 and 2007–8 seasons. However, he was fully recovered by the summer of 2008 and was a key contributor to the gold-medal-winning USA Basketball team at the Beijing Olympics. After returning home, Wade began the 2008–9 NBA season strong. In a game against the Toronto Raptors on November 20, 2008, Wade finished with season-highs of 40 points and 11 assists, as well as a career-high of five blocks in a game, making him only the second player to have a 40-10-5 game since Alvan Adams in 1977. In January 2009, Wade was named a starter for his fifth NBA All-Star Game. On February 22, 2009, he recorded his first career fifty-point game. On March 23, 2009, he became the fifth player in NBA history to reach 2,000 points, 500 assists, and 150 steals in one season, joining Al Iverson, Michael Jordan, LeBron James, and Larry Bird. On April 12, 2009, he scored a career-high fifty-five points in a game against the New York Knicks, helping the Heat to a 122–105 win. In April, he helped his team into the 2009 NBA Playoffs, making the Heat just the second NBA team to reach the postseason after winning fifteen games or fewer the previous season, having gone only 15–67 in the 2007–8 season. After a tough, seven-game first round, the Heat were defeated by the Atlanta Hawks. Wade was the league scoring leader for the 2008–9 season, averaging 30.2 points per game.

On November 1, 2009, his third game of the 2009–10 season, Wade scored his 10,000th career point in the third quarter in a game against the Chicago Bulls. In January 2010, he was selected for the 2010 NBA All-Star Game, making his sixth appearance. He was named the All-Star Game's MVP that year, recording twenty-eight points, eleven assists, and six rebounds. The Heat made it into the 2010 Playoffs but lost to the Boston Celtics in five games in the first round. In the summer of 2010, Wade re-signed with the Heat, and LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined the team. During the 2010–11 season, Wade averaged 25.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game. The Heat earned the second seed in the Eastern Conference and defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the 2011 NBA Playoffs. The Heat defeated the Boston Celtics in the conference semifinals and the Chicago Bulls in the conference finals, but they fell to the Dallas Mavericks in the Finals. Over six games, Wade averaged 26.5 points, 7 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per games in the Finals.

In the 2012 All-Star Game, Wade had 24 points, ten rebounds, and ten assists, becoming only the third player—after Michael Jordan in 1997 and LeBron James in 2011—to record a triple-double during an All-Star Game. In the 2011–12 regular season, Wade averaged 22.1 points, 4.6 assists, and 4.8 rebounds per game. The Heat defeated the New York Knicks in the first round of the 2012 Playoffs and the Indiana Pacers in the second. The Heat then defeated the Celtics after seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals. In the 2012 NBA Finals, the Heat defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder in five games, earning Wade his second championship title. Wade missed the 2012 Summer Olympics after undergoing surgery on his left knee. He finished the 2012–13 regular season with an average of 21.2 points, 5 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game. In the 2013 Playoffs, Wade was hampered by injuries that limited him to a career-low scoring average of 15.9 points per game, but the Heat nevertheless advanced to the Finals to beat out the San Antonio Spurs, earning their second consecutive championship and Wade's third title.

Wade was limited to fifty-four games during the 2013–14 regular season due to injuries. The Heat advanced to the 2014 NBA Finals to face the Spurs but were defeated in five games. Wade re-signed with the Heat in July 2014. He missed a number of games early in the 2014–15 season due to hamstring injuries in both legs. He was selected as a reserve for the 2015 All-Star Game, which would have been his eleventh All-Star appearance, but he pulled out due to a hamstring injury. He averaged 19 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game during the 2015–16 regular season.

In 2016, Wade signed a two-year, $47 million deal with the Chicago Bulls. He played sixty games with the team during the 2016–17 season, scoring an average of 18.3 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. At the end of the season, the Bulls reached a buyout agreement with Wade, letting him sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers for the 2017–18 season. Wade played forty-six games with the Cavaliers before being traded back to the Heat in February 2018. He finished the season with the Heat and re-signed with the team for the following season. The same year, Wade announced that he would retire from the sport after the 2018–19 season. By midway through the season, he had played in forty-two games, averaging 14 points a game. In January 2019, he became the third player in NBA history to record at least 20,000 points, 5,000 assists, 4,000 rebounds, 1,500 steals, 800 blocks and 500 three-pointers during his career. He was also named a special roster addition for the 2019 All-Star Game.

Summary

Dwyane Wade has established himself as one of the best “clutch” players in basketball. His quickness, ability to penetrate defenses, fearlessness, and obvious love of the game have made him a fan favorite. With LeBron James and Chris Bosh, he was at the forefront of a new generation of stars who reinvigorated the NBA. As of 2019, Wade is the Heat's all-time leader in points, games played, assists, and steals.

Personal Life

Wade married his high school girlfriend, Siohvaughn Funches, in 2002. They had two sons, Zaire Blessing Wade and Zion Malachi Airamis Wade, before separating in 2007 and divorcing in 2010. He and actor Gabrielle Union began dating 2009, before splitting briefly in 2013. During their separation, Wade had a son, Xavier Zechariah Wade, with reality star Aja Metoyer. Wade and Union married in 2014, and had a daughter, Kaavia James Wade, via surrogate in 2018. Wade also raised his nephew, Dahveon Morris.

Wade was successful beyond basketball, achieving various endorsement deals and product collaborations throughout his career. He has also appeared on various television shows and was included in Time's list of the 100 most influential people of 2020. In April 2021, Wade became a minority owner of the Utah Jazz. In October 2021, Wade's oldest son, Zaire, was drafted by the Salt Lake City Stars, an American minor-league professional basketball team, the affiliate team of the Jazz.

Wade has said he wants to leave the world a better place than he found it. To that end, he established the Wade’s World Foundation to promote education, health, and social skills for at-risk children.

Bibliography

Bengtson, Russ. "Dwyane Wade Talks His Latest Signature Sneaker, the Li-Ning Way of Wade 4." Complex. Complex Media, 23 Oct. 2015. Web. 21 Apr. 2016.

"Cleveland Cavaliers Trade Dwyane Wade to Miami Heat." NBA, 8 Feb. 2018,www.nba.com/article/2018/02/08/report-cleveland-cavaliers-agree-deal-dwyane-wade-miami-heat. Accessed 7 Feb. 2019.

Savage, Jeff. Dwyane Wade. Minneapolis: Lerner, 2007. Print.

Smallwood, John. Dwyane Wade. New York: Scholastic, 2007. Print.

Smithwick, John. Meet Dwyane Wade: Basketball’s Rising Star. New York: PowerKids, 2007. Print.

Wade, Dwyane. Interview by Stephanie Ruhle. "Dwyane Wade: My Passions beyond Basketball." Bloomberg. Bloomberg, 8 Dec. 2015. Web. 21 Apr. 2016.