Miami Heat legend Udonis Haslem showed support for his former teammate Dwyane Wade for painting his nails, sharing that it’s a way that Wade bonds with his daughter.
“First of all, my dog has been always a trendsetter when it came to fashion,” Haslem said. “He’s always not giving a f—. You know what I’m saying? He’s always been willing to push the odds a little bit. He isn’t doing nothing wrong by supporting his kids. He should support Zaya and every dream that she has, regardless of what she wants to do in life. That’s a father’s and that’s a parent’s job.
“So, regardless of that, sitting at home, painting his nails with his daughters, so f—— what? That’s how you spend time with your f—— daughter? That’s how y’all bond? In the world today, when we see so many girls that grow up and have daddy issues and he’s making sure that his daughter, that don’t happen. And we criticize that? Stop that s—. It’s hating.”
The younger Wade, who came out as transgender in 2020, has constantly gotten the support of her father.
“She’s the strong one in this family,” the elder Wade said of his daughter back in 2021. “She’s a hero. It’s our family’s job to make sure that we listen to her. We listen to the doctors. We ask questions and we formulate our own ideas of how Zaya should be and should be raised in this world and we don’t allow others to do that for us.”
The elder Wade, who is commentating the Olympic basketball games this summer, isn’t the only person who has his nails painted at the Games. The Hall of Fame basketball player pointed out that men’s sprinter Noah Lyles, who won a gold medal in the 100 meters, had his nails painted as well.
It’s nice to see that Haslem, who was with the elder Wade for the majority of his NBA career, came to the defense of his former teammate for simply being a good father.
The elder Wade and Haslem played together for several seasons in Miami, going to five NBA Finals and winning three of them together. Haslem played alongside the elder Wade with Shaquille O’Neal as well as with LeBron James and Chris Bosh during the Big 3 era.
Haslem retired from the NBA after the 2022-23 season, and both he and the elder Wade have been honored by the Heat by having their numbers (No. 40 and No. 3) retired by the organization.
A 13-time All-Star and NBA Finals MVP during his storied NBA career, the elder Wade averaged 22.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game while shooting 48.0 percent from the field. He won a scoring title in the 2008-09 season and was an All-NBA selection eight times in his career, playing the majority of it with the Heat.