Dwyane Wade will be remembered for his incredible contributions to the sport of basketball and the championships he won. But some may forget how good the Hall of Famer looked while doing it. Wade’s fashion sense has been prominent ever since he rose to superstar levels in the NBA. One person who has seen the evolution of his attire is his wife, Gabrielle Union. Wade even spoke about how his better half felt about his fiery fits during an older interview on The Ellen Show.
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The 13-time All-Star sat down with the famed comedian and talk show host in 2023, three years after he retired from basketball. After some witty banter, the conversation turned to Wade’s incredible dedication to fashion. Ellen asked if Gabrielle enjoyed the style of clothes he wore or if she disliked it for being too boisterous. “When I first got into this fashion game…she didn’t care for it,” the NBA legend admitted.
Fortunately for Wade, the Bring It On icon eventually got on board with his untouchable sense of fashion. “Now, she likes me. She likes what I do. She likes how I get down now,” he joked. Wade wore a sharp plaid jacket for his chat with Ellen, later admitting to the host that had they not been on television he would have not worn an undershirt. “You could have come out here without a shirt and nobody would have minded,” Ellen quipped back.
So where does Wade’s fashion sense come from? His father, Dwyane Sr. “My father has always been a man who would take care of himself. My uncles took care of themselves,” Wade told PEOPLE Magazine in 2024. “I always knew that’s what I wanted to do: I wanted to be one of them sharp-dressed men who smelled good, who stayed clean-shaved, and all that.”
For Wade, it isn’t just about the action. His life revolves around what he wears. “Me and my body, we love putting on clothes,” he said. “It’s not something I play around with. It’s a part of my personality, it’s a part of my lifestyle. So I’m not just wearing clothes. I put that s— on.”
A fashion sense was not really on the cards for Dwyane Wade when he was younger
As sharp as D-Wade looks in 2025, he used to dress the exact opposite as a teenager. The three-time NBA Champion has been very open about his tough childhood in Chicago. He grew up the son of two addicts — and his family didn’t have the funds for him to develop any type of style.
“I can’t even say I had a [sense of] style as a teenager. It was really just get whatever you can get, whatever you can put your hands on,” Wade said to Versace in 2024. “That’s one of the things about being a little less fortunate, only having money for the basics, the necessities—you don’t get the things you want.”
As Wade started seeing success in the NBA and raking in the big bucks, his inner fashionista was unlocked. “So I couldn’t really tap into my own style. Once I got older, I was able to say, okay, I like this. I’m going this way.”
Now, in 2025, Wade is widely recognized for his sizzling swagger and sensational attires, including at the People’s Choice Awards and the NAACP Image Awards in 2023. Who knew that the Heat legend could be just as clutch on the runway as he was on the courts?
