“Do Something That I Couldn’t Do”: Dwyane Wade’s Daughter Zaya Encourages Sister Kaavia to Pursue Basketball

Last year, Dwyane Wade became a minority owner in the WNBA’s Chicago Sky. He has since maintained an active involvement with the franchise, and it might bear fruit for his family a decade or so down the line. D-Wade revealed that his and Gabrielle Union’s daughter, Kaavia James, has recently started her foray into basketball.

“To be able to share something with my youngest child, it’s been pretty cool,” the 42-year-old shared on his podcast. “She loves doing anything I love to do and basketball is something I love, and she knows it right? And so now she’s like, ‘Let’s go workout!’”

Zaire Wade, Dwyane’s oldest, was the first to follow in his father’s footsteps. He played at Sierra Canyon alongside Bronny James and even made it to the NBA’s G-League through the Salt Lake City Stars in 2021. Notably, D-Wade also invested in the Utah Jazz that year.

Now, the three-time NBA champion can provide his youngest daughter Kaavia with similar stepping stones. She already has the support of her sister, Zaya.

“Today, me, her, and Zaya were actually out there. I showed Zaya, like ‘Zaya, look at your sister.’ And Zaya was like, she’s like, ‘Go ahead, do something that I couldn’t do. Carry on.’ Zaya’s crazy,” the father of five said smiling proudly.

Dwyane Wade had big hooping dreams for Zaya before she came out as transgender. He’d shared the same on Club Shay Shay last year. “I have Zaya. LeBron has Bryce. Melo has Kiyan. All within a 2-3 week span. All our kids gonna grow up hooping together. ‘Oh we on! Boy we gonna have 3 babies! We on!'”

While D-Wade’s dreams to see Zaya play ball did not pan out, he has another chance with his youngest, Kaavia.

Though Kaavia is just six years old, the Wade family has documented her early life well. Her parents even run an Instagram account on her behalf to give her an early start in stardom. But one thing that has notably been missing from her feed is basketball, which will now change.

Wade values nothing more than his family

The most recent update from the Wade family captured Kaavia’s sixth birthday. On November 7th, D-Wade and Gabrielle Union pulled out all the stops to throw their daughter a lavish Barbie-themed party. 

“You are a miracle who has blessed everyone with your kindness, compassion, elite humor, and your loving soul. You are a gift to your family, blood and chosen and so many people across the world,” Wade and Union wrote on Instagram.

Zaya, Dahveon Morris, and Zaire, Dwyane’s older children, were all in attendance to help Kaavia celebrate her big day. 

Since his retirement, the Flash has shown a steadfast commitment to his family. Last year, the family even moved from Florida to California to provide a safer environment for Zaya. 

Now, with Kaavia picking up the basketball, we can only expect more heartwarming highlights from her Hall of Fame father.