Top 10 Surprising Dwyane Wade Facts
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Top Dwyane Wade Facts
NBA legend Dwyane Wade is probably the greatest Miami Heat player in history. Drafted by the Heat in the iconic 2003 NBA Draft, he brought 3 championships to the city of Miami. He won Finals MVP in the 2006 Finals when the Heat defeated the Dallas Mavericks en route to winning the Larry O’Brien trophy. His accomplishments and amazing performances on the court make him a first ballot Hall of Famer.
We’ve put together a list of the most surprising facts about Dwyane Wade you’ve likely never heard before:
Wade is Married to the Actress Gabrielle Union
Wade’s second marriage is with the actress Gabrielle Union. His wife is a decade older than him, but that didn’t stop Wade from marrying her. They got married on August 30th in 2014. Gabrielle Union became the stepmother of Wade’s three kids and the couple also gave birth to one child together, Kaavia, in November of 2018. They are still together to this day.
Dwyane Wade Gave 10% of his Salary to Charity
Despite being recognized as one of the best players in the Heat’s history, Dwyane Wade never forgot where he came from. Living in Chicago before leaving for college, Dwyane Wade had a tough childhood and lived in a poor neighbourhood in the Windy City. During his career, he donated 10% of his NBA salary to the Blood, Water, and the Sprit Ministry church in his hometown. He also started The Wade’s World Foundation in 2003 to support community-based organizations promoting health and education.
He Wears Number 3 Because of Allen Iverson
Dwyane Wade is famous for wearing the number 3 with the Miami Heat. He said he mainly wears the number 3 because of one of his favorite players, Allen Iverson. In fact, Iverson is the reason why both Wade and Chris Paul wear the #3.
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Dwyane Wade Wants to Start his own Men’s Fashion Line
Other than basketball, Dwyane Wade is also known for his love for fashion; he always wore stylish clothes before games and on social media. He also has a sneaker deal with the company Li-Ning. After his NBA days are over, he plans to start his own men’s fashion line. This is a great opportunity for him after basketball to make an impact on people’s lives.
His Name was Originally Dwayne
You might’ve felt weird reading Wade’s first name for the first time. “Dwyane” is, in fact, a “mistake”. It was originally supposed to be Dwayne, but a mistake made on the birth certificate forced his parents to keep it that way. His parents did not want to go to the process of changing his name, so they decided that “Dwyane” was the way to go.
Wade has a Child Who wants Pronoun Change
Dwyane Wade and his wife have a little boy named Zion, who’s 12 years old. One day, he comes home and tells his parents to refer to him as “she” or “her”. She told her parents that she would like to be called Zaya from now on. As supportive parents, they reached out to the cast of an LGBTQ+ drama series called “Pose” to gather information to support their child as much as possible. They want to be her voice until she’s old enough to speak for herself and share her story with the public.
Dwyane Wade is a New York Times Bestseller
Wade is not only a basketball superstar, he’s also a New York Times best-selling author for his book “A Father First: How My Life Became Bigger Than Basketball”. Fans and critics loved the book and it was inspiring to read about being a father first and an athlete second. Taking care of his family must come before anything else and that’s what Dwyane Wade wrote about in his book.
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Wade Went to the Olympics Twice in his Career
Dwyane Wade was part of the USA team that won the bronze medal in 2004 in Athens and then was part of the “Redeem Team” in 2008 in Beijing. The 2004 Olympics was considered a failure by many due to the star power that the USA possessed. The “Redeem Team” brought back glory to USA basketball and Dwyane Wade was a big reason why. He led the team in scoring with 16 points per game.
His Nickname is “Flash”
Before Wade became one of the best players in the NBA, Shaquille O’Neal gave him the nickname “Flash” because of how fast he was on the court. At first. Wade didn’t like that nickname, but it really took off when the Heat won the 2006 championship. Wade established himself as one of the best players in the league after his incredible postseason and “Flash” stuck with him his entire career.
Wade was First Declared Ineligible to Play at Marquette
Because of his academic problems, Dwyane Wade was declared ineligible to play for Marquette University his freshman year, but he was committed to play so he sought tutoring help and spent many hours studying so that he could finally hit the court for Marquette. He was able to play his sophomore and junior year, leading his team to a combined 53-13 record over his two seasons.