Wade Could Be a Huge Asset For the League as a Whole
Dwyane Wade, the former NBA star and soon-to-be Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, has joined the Chicago Sky as a minority owner. According to reports, Wade purchased a stake in the WNBA franchise on Friday. His inclusion in the ownership group is still pending approval by the WNBA’s board of governors. The exact amount of his investment has not been disclosed.
More ownership coming for the Chicago Sky with Dwayne Wade
Big big big big moves for the team and WNBA as a whole https://t.co/xjD3XsL2As
— Karli Bell (@KarliBell33) July 14, 2023
Wade Knows It’s About the WNBA Players
Wade’s decision to join the Sky’s ownership group was influenced by his mother’s fandom of the team and his personal connection to the city of Chicago, where he grew up. He expressed his hope that his involvement in the WNBA will bring more attention to the league and contribute to the continued growth of women’s basketball. Wade already owns a stake in the NBA’s Utah Jazz, which he acquired in 2021, as well as a stake in Major League Soccer’s Real Salt Lake, purchased in the previous year.
“No one is bigger than the players,” Wade said. “No one is bigger than A’ja Wilson right now. No one is bigger than Aliyah Boston. No one wants to be bigger than them as an owner. That’s not what you want. And so we want to bring attention to the league that we can, but we also want to bring our resources to the league. We want to bring what we’ve learned by playing in these leagues for a long time to the front offices, to the management teams and to everyone.”
Wade Joins Other High-Profile Stars As Ownership Holders
The trend of high-profile male athletes becoming part-owners in the WNBA continues with Wade’s entry into the league. Former NFL quarterback Tom Brady bought a portion of the Las Vegas Aces in March, while former MLB star Alex Rodriguez’s ownership group acquired the Minnesota Lynx in a 2021 deal that included the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves. NBA Hall-of-Famer Magic Johnson also purchased the Los Angeles Sparks in 2014.
During his 17 seasons in the NBA, Wade played primarily for the Miami Heat, earning 13 All-Star selections, eight All-NBA honors, and three NBA championships. He was the league’s scoring champion for the 2008-09 season and posted impressive career averages of 22 points, 5.6 assists, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game.
As for the Chicago Sky, they currently hold the fifth position in the Eastern Conference of the WNBA with an 8-12 record. James Wade, Dwyane Wade’s cousin, previously served as the team’s head coach and general manager but stepped down on July 1 to join the coaching staff of the NBA’s Toronto Raptors as an assistant coach.
