The Chicago Sky may have lost a Wade after Head coach James Wade resigned mid-season to accept an NBA assistant job, but the WNBA franchise gained another Wade in the form of a three-time NBA champion Dwyane Wade.
The Chicago native announced Friday that he was joining the Sky ownership group.
“It’s an incredible feeling to be on this side of history,” said Dwyane Wade, a 2023 Basketball Hall of Fame Inductee, said in an Instagram post. “Seeing growth, on the business side, for something I’ve been passionate about my whole life is an incredible feeling. Amazing things are happening in the world. @WNBA. It’s official! It’s for the home team.”
Dwyane Wade joins a growing list of retired athletes investing in the WNBA, including Magic Johnson, Tom Brady and Alex Rodriquez, who own stakes in the Los Angeles Sparks, Las Vegas Aces and Minnesota Lynx, respectively. Wade also purchased a minority stake in the Utah Jazz in 2021.
Wade said. ESPN that he became the owner of Sky because he not only wanted speak, speakbut take the step: “Instead of tweeting and saying ‘go support the W’, instead of showing up to the game and supporting, I wanted to take it to the next level, and this was the next level for me.”
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The players are on board. Sky star Kahleah Copper said: “I think D-Wade coming into the organization is a huge milestone for us. Having a former player who has been successful at the highest level is a big moment.”
Wade becomes Sky’s latest investor – franchise sold a a roughly 10% stake last month to a group that included Chicago Cubs co-owner Laura Ricketts. Wade’s exact ownership percentage is unclear and is subject to WNBA approval.
The Sky won their first-ever WNBA championship in 2021 under head coach James Wade, who left his coaching and general manager roles in Chicago to accept an assistant coaching position with the Toronto Raptors of the NBA.
“We are delighted that James will be able to realize his life’s dream of joining the NBA, and we send him our warmest congratulations and best wishes,” said Michael Alter, principal owner of Sky.
Emre Vatansever has been named interim head coach of Sky. Chicago is currently 8-12 heading into All-Star weekend.
Contributor: John Leuzzi, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
