Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade showcased how proud he is of his son Zaire, who just turned 21, for signing with the Cape Town Tigers of the Basketball Africa League.
The Heat icon also revealed that his son’s name comes from African roots, making it even more special that the youngster is now set to play in Africa.
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“Zaire was named after the continent, country Africa,” the elder Wade said. “It was Zaire, Africa before they changed it to the DRC. I don’t know why we did it. I was 19, 20 years old, but today shows us a big reason that it was bigger than basketball.”
The elder Wade went on to name several important people in his son’s life, saying that they couldn’t be more proud of him for the man he is. The way the elder Wade sees it, the youngster’s new basketball deal is “icing on the cake.”
The elder Wade posted a video on his Instagram of him and his son celebrating the exciting time in the 21-year-old’s life.
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Last season, the younger Wade played for the Utah Jazz’s G League team, the Salt Lake City Stars. The elder Wade is a part of the ownership group for the NBA team.
During that season, the younger Wade averaged 4.6 points and 1.9 assists per game across 13 appearances for the G League squad.
Now, the younger Wade will get a chance to make a mark in the Basketball Africa League as he continues to follow in his father’s footsteps.
The elder Wade had an amazing NBA career, winning three NBA titles with the Heat. He averaged 22.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game while shooting 48.0 percent from the field.
The elder Wade also won a scoring title in the 2008-09 season and was an All-NBA selection eight times in his career. He formed one of the greatest teams in NBA history in Miami by teaming up with LeBron James and Chris Bosh to form the Heat’s iconic Big 3.
That’s a lofty resume to live up to for the younger Wade, but he has a chance to forge his own path in the Basketball Africa League.
It’s great to see how much the elder Wade supports his son and is helping him reach his own dreams in the game of basketball.
