A quick look at the NBA coaching fraternity shows that many former players get into the coaching game after lacing them up for the final time. Steve Kerr, Jason Kidd, JJ Redick, and Chauncey Billups are just a few. Often, these guys take a few career detours before landing the top spot on an NBA bench. Many do TV work or podcasts. Others join a front office. All told, about a third of the league’s head coaches played in the league at some point.
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Dwyane Wade is a Miami Heat legend, a three-time NBA champion, and one of the best shooting guards of all-time. Despite his impressive credentials though, he has no desire to become a coach, a sentiment he’s made very clear.
“I don’t want to be a coach. That’s not my expertise. That’s not my strength as a basketball mind,” Wade said. “I don’t want to go back and live the same schedule that I just retired from. Coaches live the same schedule and even worse, because they got to be there before you and after. I don’t want that life. Not at all.”
Wade is extremely busy, so this makes sense. He’s been married to actress Gabrielle Union since 2014, and together they’ve raised five kids: three from Wade’s previous relationships, one of their own, and one nephew for whom Wade is his legal guardian.
Wade and Union are also quite active philanthropically, and in their efforts as activists for LGBTQ+ causes. They have been loudly outspoken about their support for their daughter Zaya.
Wade saw first-hand the amount of work that was needed to become a great player, and he no doubt saw how much work his coaches like Pat Riley and Erik Spoelstra put in to prepare. He’s at a point in his life where he can afford to take it a little easier.
Dwyane Wade is still active in basketball, even if he has no plans to coach
Just because Wade has no interest in coaching doesn’t mean he’s out of the game entirely. He runs a thriving podcast network that often finds him talking about the players and the current events of the NBA and WNBA. He frequently has basketball players on as guests, including Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol, and Tony Parker.
Wade also dabbled as an analyst during the 2024 Paris Olympics, and his performance received mostly positive reviews. The Olympics were aired on NBC, and with the NBA returning to the network next season, many have speculated that he’d be a natural fit to pick up a more permanent gig in the fall.
Wade would undoubtedly have a lot to offer as a coach because of his basketball IQ and selflessness as a player, but those same qualities could make him a great announcer, as well. He had a fun chemistry with partner Noah Eagle during the Olympics, and the fact that he was still playing in the league so recently means that he’s still in tune with the intricacies of the modern game.
Give us some Roundball Rock and Wade on the mic and I suspect we won’t be worried about NBA ratings anymore.
