Miami Heat icon Dwyane Wade joining another basketball ownership group. Here’s who
Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade isn’t just saying he’ll support the WNBA.
He’s investing in the game after announcing he’s joining the Chicago Sky’s ownership group, according to a Twitter post and ESPN report.
“We all talk about support, and support looks different for everyone,” Wade told ESPN. “And so instead of tweeting out and saying ‘go support the W,’ instead of showing up at the game and supporting, I wanted to take it to that next level, and this was the next level for me.
“It’s a great opportunity to be a part of the league in its very early stages. ... Growth is going to happen, and so I want to be a part of the growth of this league.”
Wade retired from basketball in 2019 and is heading into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in August. Allen Iverson is scheduled to present Wade when he’s inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Since leaving the court as a player, he’s turned his sights on ownership stakes joining groups that own the NBA’s Utah Jazz and MLS club Real Salt Lake.
However, the latest move puts Wade in ownership of a team in his hometown of Chicago.
“It’s an incredible feeling being on this side of history,” Wade said on Twitter. “To see growth, on the business side, for something that I’ve been passionate about my whole life is an amazing feeling. It’s official! This is for the home team– literally. I know the home team will make you feel some type of Wade.”
The WNBA board of governors have to approve of Wade’s inclusion to be part of the ownership group and an exact ownership percentage was not disclosed, ESPN reported.
D-Wade’s decision to invest in the Sky comes after the franchise “sold an approximate 10 percent stake of the team (at an $85 million valuation) last month to a group including Chicago Cubs co-owner Laura Ricketts,” ESPN reported.
The majority owner remains Michael Alter, the outlet reported.
