Some people retire and live out their golden years in quiet relaxation. Not Dwyane Wade. Since hanging up his sneakers in 2019, Wade has only gotten busier. He became a minority owner of the Utah Jazz, Real Salt Lake and the Chicago Sky, and he has a thriving podcast network.
Advertisement
Wade has hosted a game show, founded a production company and spearheaded many philanthropic efforts. He’ll also be an analyst for the Amazon’s NBA coverage beginning this fall.
The former Heat star has built an empire, and he shows no signs of slowing down. At Fanatics Fest in June, he revealed two of the keys that have helped him create a brand that’s much bigger than just basketball.
Wade said, “I tell people all the time, two of the most important things I’ve done since I’ve retired is the fact that I’m in the wine industry and the fact that I’ve picked up golf, because I’ve been in situations in both places where I’m sitting with somebody that I would never have gotten an opportunity to have this much time with.”
“When you’re sharing a bottle of wine with somebody, when you’re golfing with somebody for four to six hours, you don’t get that kind of unedited time with anyone,” Wade explained. “And sometimes you f*** around and you look next to you like, ‘I’m with Obama.’ I found myself golfing with Obama.”
D’Angelo Russell credited Wade’s knowledge and vision with giving him guidance on creating his own legacy. “He drops jewels like that, and it may go over your head,” Russell said. “For me, I’m listening to everything [he’s] saying.”
In April, Russell became the first NBA All-Star to get his own signature shoe with Way of Wade, D-Wade’s collaboration with the Chinese shoe company Li Ning. As his Backyard Podcast cohost Logan Linkmeyer said, Russell joined Way of Wade because “he felt how pure D-Wade was, how pure of energy, there was no faking it … It was all love, pure love from the jump.”
After dropping the stealth flex that he just got back from the Cannes Film Festival, Wade hammered home the idea that has helped him become so successful. “How life goes is what you gonna do tomorrow … I’m here to talk about partnership, not sponsorship.”
That kind of thinking helped him forge his own path in the sneaker industry away from the Nike-Adidas industrial complex. It gave him the humility to buy a smaller share of various sports franchises and learn the ropes. And it’s helped him host a podcast that isn’t like most others with their hot takes and gotcha moments and instead focuses on real analysis and real conversation.
Wade’s journey has been a fun one to follow, and it seems like it’s only getting started.
