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The Wine Down: Dwyane Wade Sr. vs. Jr.

Published May 24, 2024, 9:00 AM

Dwyane and his father have an incredibly revealing conversation about their relationship. Fights, his father's drinking and credit issues, and why Dwyane moved out at just 16 years old. They talk about the playoffs, the Anthony Edwards comparisons, and respect for Tom Crean. They also get into the success of the WNBA, the Chicago Sky, and A'ja Wilson's new sneakers.

 

Pops Studio, even town. Yeah, blasphemy was like, man, that is that's a lot. That is. Everybody welcome Dwyane Wade Senior. Wow man, way hey, wold Man way a Pops. When they start calling you senior though, because you were born Dwyane Wade, you weren't born Dwyane Wade Senior. So so let me so your son made them add a name to your name. You're that yeah, buddy, that's a that's a move, right, Yeah, yeah, talk about it because you.

Can't use that you know, I can't use that name like senior is not on my uh license or nothing like that.

So it doesn't matter. Wade senor Dwyane Wade.

Yeah, Junior, I'm junior. You junior, Yeah, you can call you junior there, I know, no, no, no, you can't call me pass along time ago that fighting words. At this point, I'm a grown man. The problems call you junior. You call him junior and junior.

I never called him junior.

Nah, okay, that's it's called me Dwayne only right. I just wondered.

I just you know, I just wanted nobody calls me Dwayne. They called hi.

So we traveled. Now we travel around the world together now, right, and everybody like to call say Duane all the time, right, and Bro, it's the weirdest thing ever because I don't go nowhere else when nobody have my name. But when we together, they both called us Duane and we both turn. You know that, you both turn Yep. It's so weird.

Yeah, it's funny because you don't actually travel with your name all the time, right, but you hear it meaning like something something you have different, like you know, suitor names.

Yeah, but I'm talking about when people got names, so like were so when we were at the Masters, right, we went to the Masters this year, the last couple of years we've been and people just saying Duane, Duane, Duane. And because if someone calls your name, you're gonna turn, like Bob, You're gonna be like, oh, what's right? No, No, I get it. Like me and Bob can be in the same place and they be like, yo, Bob, we both looked back. I get it. Yeah, but I know it's funny. Don't don't don't say Bob, I don't do that.

You just I just did that. I just did that. So we y'all just got back. Y'all are y'all jet lag or anything like that.

Oh yeah, so we just got back from trying to everybody. Yeah, like to like a day and a half ago.

I can't wait now, Yeah, Pops.

Are you jeed la?

No, I don't. I don't get jet like.

No.

This I'm the coolest nigga on hear, clearly, and.

Then most athletic. Clearly. You played nine sports.

Yeah, at least ten.

Talk about China, Pops, this is your first time going to China. Everybody that do not know, I have a brand in China called Way of Wad for the last twelve years, and so this is my pops first time going. I just had up to set and go ahead. Yeah.

I mean it was amazing. Man.

They treated me like a king. They treated you like a king. They treated our family like we were their family. It was it was really amazing, awesome time.

You know.

I actually like, if something.

Go wrong in this life here in the United States, I think I moved to China.

They treated Pop so well. He said, if something go wrong, he gonna move to China. In my mind, this is a man who was complaining about getting on the flight to go to town. Yeah, and now he's talking about he moved the time. You see what I'm going When people treat you right, you see how how it is.

He's actually man good because you're dropping the wild elevens this time. I was dropping the wild to kind of see that from your perspective.

I mean for the first time, you know, me watching my sons, you know, do his thing on that stage, on that level. I mean, it was I just I don't even know what to say. Man, it was it was. It was amazing, bro.

Like I already know how he moved. Anyway. He he basically stole my style and.

I love it. Oh my. You know he's live up, totals, wine down.

He stole my fasana and.

You know, now you call it something everything. He stole everything, you know what I'm saying. So it's amazing to watch you know him still everything I do.

Wow, you got you got the grandson there too.

Yeah, he's something different. That's a different beast, right, Brons.

As a grandfather, you got to think about you looking at like your DNA and like your son, and then you're looking at his son, so and you know what's in you that they don't even know that's in you. So when you start seeing what's in you and your grandson, You're like, oh, he in trouble you.

You start looking at you from a different, you know, perspective, like he got me and him that's the first time you get to really see you on the outside of you.

You'd be like, wow, you that wild. I'm not wild.

And I love it though I was like, damn, I ain't got to be wild. Now this nigga that took over.

A man, that kid right there. Man, Yeah he's different, bro, he definitely way different. So how is it to see your yo.

Like from respective now you've gotten it's a little bit over their life to now see like your offsprings, you see your son and see your your grand sent just your children are all over, just just flourishing to girl doing her thing for you. How proud that makes you?

You know what?

I've always wanted to see what my kids would would be like when they got grown, and uh, they all surprised me. Uh the level they've they've risen to. And I'm I'm super I'm super excited about the way they are, the life that they live, and how they make me feel now because I you know, I come from a background that wasn't so so clear, you know, and to watch them and to watch their their drive and and stuff like that.

It's it's amazing, bro. It's just it's.

Something that every parent wants to see. He wants to see their offsprings. Uh, be better than them. And I always told my kids be better than me, and they succeeded.

They better than me. Now, how you were?

How cool is to see to be able to share these moments of your life and these blessings that you've been able to have. You been able to bless a lot of people in your life, but to be able to now like to bless and share these moments with your dad and your son at the same time.

Lobby.

We can't lobby. We can't do either one or the other. Not many do both at the same time. Like for you, what is that like for you?

Yeah, I mean, I'm sure the feelings are very mutual, right as he just expressed it, because you know, like everybody don't know. Everyone hears stories about what you tell them about where you come from, but you know because you lived in the moment, right and so I know where we come from. I know the relationships and how hard it was even to build relationships and maintain relationships with the struggle of life that you know, my dad was living and that we end up living. And so to be able to take a moment in China and to be able to see the three generations and my dad, myself and z in twenties and z is in his twenties. I'm in my forties and my dad in the sixties. Man, it was beautiful. It was It was to take yourself out of it and just say, this is like my dad said, this is all you want as a son to be able to have to travel the world with your father on your right and your son on your left. For me, you know, you're first born. Uh, it really don't get no sweeter than that. And then we out there promoting our brand, our business, our name. It's Wade, you know what I'm saying. It ain't like we out there supporting. It ain't for someone else, It's for our family brand. This goes way beyond my dad, way beyond Zaya, way beyond myself. This goes generation of ways that we will never hopefully get to see. That's that's the goal. And so, man, just an incredible feeling, like I was just so the entire time over there. Man, I was just I was I was just happy, you know what I mean. I'm just floating because we get to have these experiences together, and this is what you dream of, you know what I mean. Like I was a kid dreaming to have a relation, kind of relationship with my father, and I've been a grown man dreaming to have a kind of relationship with my father. And so it's super important for me that as long as he and I got on this earth that we because it's nobody else that understands me the way he does, right, And I didn't. I didn't know that when I was young. I didn't think about it that way. Like if I would have thought about it, that I would be way smarter in life about life. But I was like, no, nobody knows me, nobody understand You don't understand my life that you know what I'm saying. Like you said a point, like you don't understand me, and it's like, no, if one person in his earth understands you, it probably would be your father. It's cool. Man's super cool. And then we get to do it. I've heard you like quite the athlete I try to be. Yeah, you know you have a hall of fame sent off here.

But I heard you like you multi disciplined, multi discipline me. You you're a boss and a bunch of different sports. I think I know Dre would tell him you.

He did water skin. No, no, no, ice skin. I'm sorry, ice skan what what did you make up? See that? I can't get it right?

Skating? What speed skating?

Like like on ice? Ro regular?

I did ice and yeah, speed skating on ice?

Yeah in Chicago.

Yeah, did you know that?

I just found this out in China. Every year he has a different sport to his thirteen sports. He played whatever. If he wasn't the greatest, probably was.

The greatest athlete all the time.

And listen, I had Lindsay Vaughnston on this podcast.

You can have whoever you want. I probably still be the greatest.

I had Carmelo and Chris Paul and you just played one.

You know what I'm saying. They only played one. They can't talk for me, But but hold.

On, though, if you was less than the average in eacht one of them was the greatest.

Athlete, I'm average. You was less than average? No, I was average. I was the average in each one. So what was your best? What was your most above average sport that you do baseball? Oh did you like how far?

What was your?

Uh?

For me, baseball was the the greatest sport ever because Pete Rose was my favorite. You know what I'm saying. I modeled myself behind Pete Rose. You know, Pete Rose stole second, I stole two, row, stole third, I.

Stole home, and he hit left. I hit right. So I did everything. I played nine positions, you know, a battle power on both sides. And I think, yeah, I think I'm I think.

I'm probably the greatest player that's unrecognized.

In baseball.

Yeah, why wouldn't you recognize it?

I mean, some things happened.

If if we need to see Anthony Evers when he grow up to be my dad.

Now, things happened. You know.

I had a tragedy that happened when I was young, right in the peak of me playing baseball. I had a friend that got killed right in front of my eyes, and that changed everything.

And I went to the Army.

So if if that hadn't happened, I probably would have been in the running to be one of the greatest players that ever played the game.

Yeah, whoa, you know, I can't even I can't even front on because you know what I mean, I do gotta see your name. I am sitting over here, one of um Yeah, you know what I mean. I can't say, but I will say this, as a kid, I did get a chance to see my dad play baseball, and he was exactly what he said. Yeah he was. He was. He was a powerhead on both sides, like left hand, right, He played all He played any position you wanted me he was. He was good. So I did get a chance to see that as a kid. So I will say, Now, I don't I don't know who the kind of caliber players he was playing against. I don't know how fast those pictures was going. I'm not saying none of that, but what I'm saying when I saw my kid eyes, I was like, Yo, my pops, is that dude? You know what I'm saying. Like, I didn't know about the NBA, so but I knew I walked around that park. You know, was that dude? I just remember that? You know?

Yeah?

Did you ever want him to play baseball?

Yeah?

I wanted him to play baseball, but he he wanted to do him.

He played football. He wanted to play football.

Now I'm about to now about to change take the store to someone else. And so this is what happens when you grow up with a parent who is intoxicated most to the time. My dad do not remember this. Okay, this girl was going off to play baseball. Finally, I was going to play baseball. My dad did not want me to play baseball because once I started playing around school, around everybody, I was pretty good. I was an athlete, so I can do all things. My dad, in his drunken state, told me, I bet not take my ass out there and try out for that team. He don't even remember this.

I don't remember that ship.

But why why did you think? Why?

Why?

So I don't remember that intoxicated that's what he said.

Okay, you just say anything when you were in that state, and so we just so. I just played. He didn't want me. Did you want me to play football? That? Hell no, he wanted me to play football either. I had to sneak and play football. He wasn't. He wasn't. I was an athlete. I didn't want. He wanted me to play one sport.

Oh, okay, I wanted to play basketball. He wanted to play football. So I let him play football. But I never after.

I never remember them trying out for baseball.

No, I was so nice, bro, I'm like I was in football. I was he in football?

Oh?

No, it was terrible. First of all, he was. First of all, sir, played I didn't played football in my eighth grade year. That was the first time I ever played. And I was not that good because I ain't know nothing about football. But I did get I got a lot better. You should have never tried. No, I got a lot better. I was good. I was a good receiver, though he was. They had me playing cornerback in eighth grade. That was not my position.

Don't listen to him, he got away with words.

Don't listen to What was it raising a young Dwayne for you? How was it?

I mean, Dwayne was a very quiet young man, and then he had me as a daddy, so he had.

To be quiet.

But he was an amazing kid, Like I had no problems, No problems out of him at.

All, not one. So when did you notice that he was gonna be good at basketball?

It took a long time for me to recognize him as a basketball player, so it probably it probably happened like when he went to Marquette It wasn't before that. I mean it was one time before that he went downstate or something in his AAU and he came off the bench and they won the championship because he led him there. So that probably was the opening, the eye opening before that. I mean, he was just average basketball, but he won. He won all that. But you know, bro, while you sitting I'm super nice, he was all, what do you mean? Okay, let's break that down. Then a high school, so what age you want me to say? But when I was young, I was. I was good and he wasn't super nice. As you know, I was terrible. I went good when I was young, But high school, I want good high school. When I high school, he had high school, that's that's when you went downstate.

But that's when I was. I was hooping. So what you mean I was? I was? That was it.

That's that's when you when you did.

But it wasn't like you ain't see NBA. No, you ain't see you ain't see the NBA. It's just a good everybody be talking about. Oh, when I saw him at Marquette, I knew he was going NBA. Like I didn't even know it.

When he was at Markette until the final four, Like that's really when you could see it, like because you didn't really see too many games, so you couldn't see it see it. And then when he went to the final four and he put up the stats, he didn't He was like, all right, but yeah he might be ready, you know so, but no, I ain't see it before the end. He couldn't jump about this high. That's how Zia dropping right out. He talked about I got a forty I'd like, just like your daddy.

But my, my, my springs didn't come until a little later. A lot of people don't know that. Like I wasn't always athletic, Like that's really yeah, my jumping ability, Like really, when I got to the heat, I went to another level. But like and then I had knee surgery the year before that. People don't do understand, Like so even when I started jumping, then I had knee surgery so I couldn't jump. And then when I got to like the final four, time I was springy, Like I tell people all the time, like I woke up one day, like I think it's Brookie Year the movie when his arm, Like I woke up one day in the final four, and I was like, oh, I think he's back because I wasn't springy because I had knee surgery and it took me a while. And then God was like, you've been patient.

You remember when I messed up my knee playing against you in the backyard?

How were those basketball games in the backyard? Like, Bro, you don't want to know, said I talked to very. I brushed over it in my Hall of Fame speech. You know what I'm saying. I brushed over how basketball was for us. It was it was war, Bro, it was war. And this is why, Like so when people hear me and my father talk to each other, they look at me like, that's your dad, because we just talked like regular dudes, because we grew up hooping together. And when you were on the basketball, for you grow up the way we grew up, it's all kind of words flying. And this is what it is, you know what I'm saying. And so that's the.

Sounds becussing you on the court now, not in the house, and not in the house, not the house right right right, but.

On the court. My dad let us be Yeah, he didn't, he didn't. He didn't say, boy, what you just say so I was like, man, get off me or whatever. Who you just That's how we talked, right, how we got in the house. It was stupid now that I think about it. You got the house.

We couldn't say nothing should get away with a lot of ship.

On the court. Yeah, yeah, not in the house though, I ain't get waited nothing in the crib.

There's a story that I talked about it in China about Dwayne almost getting all killed or something almost happened with Dwayne almost.

Had to Yeah, what was that like? For those who don't know what what is the story?

Go ahead, d.

So we were we were playing. So when I was growing up, it was just certain places that I talked about in my Hall of Fame spreach to certain places that you had to go play to get your stripes or to see where you was at and where the competition was at. And so one of the places was the Lakefront, which I talked about. And so my dad always growing up, he would go play at the Lakefront. He'll take us as we were growing up. Anyway, that's fast forward to this time. I'm a little older now, I'm starting to become a better basketball player. I'm starting to feel myself a little bit, you know. So he takes up, he takes us down the lakefront to see where we're at. So we down at hooping, bro and I had a little attitude problem back then, and somebody filed me and I ain't. I just took the ball and I just slung it at the head like quickly because I had another week. That's how we grew up playing, We grew up being. We threw balls at each other, We hit each other. That's how my dad, we was raised like that in the backyard hooping. So I did it right, man. This dude took that ball and through that ball back and me so fast. I didn't even get a chance to like finish my throat before it was back at my head. And my dad solved that. And so you know, my dad, m what is my mother son? What's wrong with you? Bob? When I tell you, it got scary in five seconds, start grabbing ship, started going to the car. You started, you started gun. I was like, oh, So we came to find out that it was like this guy was like one of the leaders of the games, uh in Chicago, And yeah we was out numbered. Yeah, we was out numbers.

So we had but I had a friend that was playing with us that knew all of them, and he was like, Yo, that's my boys.

You know, that's the son.

You know.

So that the slide. That was a dangerous time. Though we never got to see him, we might not ever got to the scary Yeah, it was.

I think we was getting about that part.

Now we probably wouldn't have made it out.

We would have made it out, but it was an am But yeah, so that my attitude, I had to I had to shift it a little bit.

You know.

There was a couple of times then my dad put his paws on me one time and then I had to really shift it. Talk about that, you put your paws on let's talk about I mean, well afterwards, I was like that last it was up.

Now, this is on the court, always at the crib.

The crib, and he put his paws on me. But this was like he was little. You know, he was militant, you know what I mean, military background and stuff. You don't understand how grow we didn't push up, set up.

Stop started. You said the nigga was high.

He was.

He was high all the time.

Go ahead, go back there. No, I don't know. I'm just saying you was. I mean, but you know what if I would have the life.

You had right?

Intoxicated? Yeah, the King Kobert was on you heavy. Yeah, King Colbd was the thing. Yeah, but uh, you know he put his paws on me. But I'm not saying he had right. He's so Me and my sister we grew up and like my sister was older than me, and I had attitude problem. So I said, hit my sister like fight, fight, and so my sister but she was bigger than me, so she always beat me up, like pick on me, and so she came to the crib. I was living with my dad. My sister came to the house. She wasn't living with us, and she was visiting, and we did what we do. We always get into it, this older sister, little brother. And this one time I felt I was big and I hit her. But I hit her in the stomach like hard, and she went crying to my dad. Yeah, I think he was in the tub with something. I think he was in a tub or something because he came up. Wow, well you put them palls on me, and how.

Were you like fifteen sixteen?

No, bro, don't don't win it over what what do you mean? He was now to give That was the other time. That was okay, that was another. That was another time. I'll get to that one. This was this is when I was younger and I was you know, I wasn't that one he put his paws on me and he but it was really about my attitude, Like I had a real quick temper and like I'll just go and so the instance of like hitting my sister in the stomach corps, like throwing the ball at the gang leader, like stuff like that is gonna get me hurt in these streets, right, And so he was he was letting me know, like this is what's gonna happen to you if you don't, if you don't change your attitude. So I ain't like that. My feelings was hurt. Paul's hurt. I stopped all that. Yeah, so that's the moment I'm talking about. You told me that's another moment. Then you said, you talking about the moment the moment we got into when I was sixteen years old and we got him.

It came in and I was drunk and the nigga did something wrong and I was like chastising, and he was like nigga, I ain't taking this no more. I was like, what you ain't what we got the tussling this ship. Nigga threw me down, put me down to the floor.

I was like what.

That nigga ran out the house. They ain't come back for a week or something.

I was gone. I was scared, scared, but I ain't do nothing to him.

I was like, damn, you know And at that point, when did you realize, all right, at this point, did you realize.

It has changed that the time is shifted?

Yeah? Yeah, everything shifted like the older. It's bigger, you know, bigger, and he not taking that bullshit no one from you know what I'm saying, especially when you drunk. Don't be drunk talking. He like big, I got you, you know. And I was like, okay, you got me this then.

Yeah. But I also don't even drunk too like I want. I was. I was a smart kid. I wasn't crazy at that moment. I had to do what I had to defend myself, and I felt like I was ready and I got him at the right time, get at the right time. Put him down in front of everybody. I'm about the house. He on the ground, trying to figure out what he gone. He ran out after that gone, Yeah, he thought I was. That was around the time when I was like getting ready to remember, moved out the house when I was sixteen, able to move anyway, Yeah, I was out. So when just talking about that for a minute.

When he moved out, you know a lot of people speculated about him, me letting him go at what sixteens And I look at it like this. You know, I moved out my mom house at around the same age, fifteen sixteen, Me and his mom got together. I was like fifteen, we moved out, sixteen. So when he said he was he was leaving, I was like, Okay, that's what you want to do. Go ahead, Let's let's see how it works out. I did it, you know what I'm saying. So, and people talked about me. You know, they was like, you let your son go.

That was the wrong move.

But I had to let him be him. But I think it paved the way for him to be who he is today. It helped grow him up, made him brighter, you know what I'm saying. So it was a good move. How'd you look at it?

How I look at it now?

He was ready to go. Then the house was it was time.

Yeah, it was time, just you know what I mean, like it was it was going on going on, man, and I was it was around that time I started like I wanted something for myself, even at that age, like you know, we didn't have nothing. So I was like, I was like I was used to us having anything. I was like, all right, you got to go. If you're going to have anything in life, it has to come from you, Like I knew that. And so I was like, I need to focus. And our house wasn't a place where you can focus. I need to focus on my grades, like I want never to I want to take a school serious. Then they was talking about act tests and you gotta get this, you gotta get a twenty one. I'm like what. So life had a change for me, and you know, it was just real hectic, you know, the way we were growing up. And so I had an out and my out was Zaire's mom. But we were dating and she was she lived down the street from us, and I went to live with her, and so yeah, so he knew I was right down the street, right around the corner, all right around the corner. I went far like but I left, and I knew how much I know how this works. So once I left, I knew I could never go back. I mean, I said, like, I'm just saying, like, that's just right. Once I decided that I was big enough to leave, then I was on my own from that standpoint. But I say, I look at it now, and without going into all the details, I will say, you're going to live and you're gonna learn. I learned, like I had. I felt like I got taken advantage of a little bit because I had I had no one, because I kind of disassociated myself from my family, right. My mom was dealing with her her journey, which we talk about, you know, when it comes to her life, and then I kind of broke off from my dad, and so I was really out that by myself, right, and then I'm not looking at myself the way other people looking at me. They looking at me as talent, like a talented basketball player, you know what I mean. And so I definitely got took an advantage of you know what I mean. And I'll talk about that in my memoir when I write it. But you live and you learn. So I had to learn. I had to grow up fast. When I decided I stepped out of that house. I had to grow up fast, and I and alone that journey. It was some things I needed that I didn't that I didn't have, that I didn't get and I had to learn the hard way real for it. So now your trajectory has changed.

Here you got to do in college and yeah a son now and now find a fourth stuff happened when he saw that he was going to make that transition to oh he might be an NBA.

I got married in college, right, remember.

Right, So now you're saying this and now the trajectory was it like before I even get to that point.

I know at one point you said your dad was like Joe Jackson. He was everything. Yeah, he was trying to tell Jackson we were in a music group, me and my step brothers. And then he's just trying to make everybody star. If you had any any air in your lungs, you was gonna sing of something.

He was trying to somebody was going to be successful with my thumbbody. Just what I'm saying. He was Joe Jackson. That's how we made it out. He knew he had to go.

You got my pass playing that like we was. You was in the singing group. You need to have to learn these dance stuffs you had to perform at FA basketball you have to play basketball. And that's and I tell people all the time, it's like he didn't have the life that afforded us to figure it out, Like I have that life, but my kids can figure it out. Now, he didn't have it. Y'all gonna do something. And so yeah, we were in the group.

So when he's but now fast forward, you are basketball is laying no basketball, no football, no baseball, and you see him actually do it, Like for you, that moment was like I was that moment like for you now to actually see you know, guiding, to see where he goes, Like for you, what was that like? To see it actually pay start to pay off and pay off in a big way.

Still to this day, it's unreal, you know, Like you you always talk about you wanted somebody in your family family to be famous and or to make it.

But when they make it, you like, damn, we.

Did it for real, like it happened.

So to me today I'm still you know, I'm still stunned. Like and now and now he's great, He's one of the greatest, Like whoever would have thought that he would have been one of the greatest players and they only jumped this high yel That was crazy, man. But I'm proud. I'm really proud now, you know. I Mean it's a feeling that you never really can talk about. You can't explain it because it happened and you didn't think it was going to happen, but you just wanted it to happen, you know, so when it happened, you like, damn.

For real. So it's like that. It's that type of feeling.

So when people ask me, you know, how you feel about this and that, and then I'd be like, I still don't know how to feel because I'm still stunned, you know, like we were poor, bro, Yeah.

We was poor as hell.

When you say poor, I mean like, you know, when I tell people, they don't believe like it's hard for people to believe it. I mean, you know, when you don't have lights, when you don't have water at times like we don't know Pops eat Robert from doing this job and this job and this job to keep the lights on and then the lights may still on or this may go off. Well we got to all get by the heater. I mean, you know what I'm saying, Like the heat may not be on, we got to get by the oven, or like we grew up that way.

We grew up poor, Like we grew up At one point, I was getting seventy three dollars.

A week and it was step mom, seventy three step brothers, sister, and me.

Should I raise so many kids off seventy three dollars? I don't even know how that shit happened.

Well, we had we had a little help from Wick and all that. Yeah, we had from the public gig. Yeah we were We were definitely on public gig.

Damn show. That shit came in colors.

When they when they went with to Lenk card though, Yeah, you couldn't tell us nothing.

Were walking there with credit card now.

Baby, because you know, everybody felt away about having food steps. You know, when the parents gave them food steps, they get off my face. She was like, dang, I gotta.

We wanted to.

We want to.

We want a type of family that was in the cheese line. But we were so poor.

We was putting sugar on bread and putting it in the oven, and that was a delicacy.

Show that type of that type of that was like, what's that? What's the spot in the airport? Annie's Yes, it was like.

Yeah, I remember that.

It was like that. So now we come a long way.

So now you probably didn't be a family and I'm gonna go I go to that because we name being playoffs right now, last night some games happened. Did you think it was gonna happen that way? I know we talked about it a couple of different times.

Yeah, we really talk about that. I mean, like, you know, in Miami, I'm known as the greatest predictor Oh my god, you know what I'm saying. They call They called me coach in Miami, and I predict all the time and I'm usually like.

Ninety eight percent right, Oh my god.

And so last night, I mean, everybody waiting for me to come home right now because I finally lost. So now everybody's waiting on getting get back to Miami, you know, so they can say, yeah, we got you for the first time.

I think I think most of the basketball world picked Denver to win Game seven, been to defending champions at home. Of course, every I think most of the world did, and it had it's nothing. It was nothing, no slack on Minnesota at all because we knew that they can win in Denver. They went into one of the first two games in Denver, right, but with the dynamics of it all, knowing that the home team wins seventy five percent of the time. And in game seven at a home we lost. You think that, yeah, the defendive championship, go ahead and win. They had one three in a row, you know what I mean, and so far and so on. But that that that that team, that that young man who was obviously Anthony Edwards, who was doing amazing the games before Scorner basketball, had a tough night and you couldn't even really tell. That's the sign of a very good basketball player.

Helive.

He came alive. He kept his attitude, He didn't hang his head too much. He made sure he was still putting his body or his you know, his game on the line of kicking to his teammates, especially Jadon McDaniels. That was, you know, a beneficialar area of that hitting them threes. But that right there from a young player is special. That's why he's so special because sometimes when the ball is not going in the back and you know, the ball was not going through the basket. You players just disappear right in a game seven on the road in year what what year are we in the aunt? Three, four or four years old? We we don't see that right and often. And so last time you've seen that it was with you. That's say you've seen it in two thousand and six. I'm just it is facts as facts. So we've seen that eighteen years ago. And it's special to watch. I'm getting a chance to watch what it looked like when I did it, watching Anthony Edwards do it, and I'm loved. I'm living through him right now. But I'm like, oh, that's what you did that and so and it's cool because because of the connection with Tom Crean and you know, Ant going to Georgia and my and my coach being there at the time, Me and coach get to talk about it. You know, we get to get on the phone about Ant's performances, Ant's press conference, We be we talked about and for because I know he's doing the same thing the and that he did to me send you. He sent me these text messages out the games and made sure that I kept the main thing, the main thing. Make sure that my teammates understood how important he was, make sure that it was never really about me, right, And so I know he's doing that to and you can tell by you know, and it's getting coached as well as a young man to give his teammates all the shine in the midst of his his rise. And if he got Cream talking to him, you can you can bet that he's getting coached. Getting coach coaches.

Is a coach, right.

And I didn't even think about the fact that I noticed all his all his interviews after the game. I like, he's praising his teammates. He's praising his teammates, and I didn't realize, Like you calling that out now.

Y'all gonna get hold on, sorry, Bob, y'all gonna give my coach more respect. Y'all don't get coach Cream more respect. I don't. I don't like that he ain't got a job. I don't like that he ain't on the sideline right now. We got he got pros, he got very he got great players. If Victor Deeper don't get hurt, you got another one. And he was on his way. It's all stars and everything. So I won't give my coach more respect. He's that he can coach, and he coached the whole sickly. He's still coaching o G in New York, in Indiana, he's still coaching guys and his players are still there impactful. So I'm gonna give my coach more respect, sooner or later later. So now your whole bracket bust, both your brackets busted.

Yeah, well, I mean, I mean, I mean I can bracket ain't bust. I mean all the way down to the end. You got you got to eat that, you got to east and the west so black and they busted.

To the day was who you were saying?

Who you were saying, I don't we have a compiation about who we think it's gonna make it, who's gonna think everything pans Outcamember. The last time we talked about it, it was like, Denver is healthy, you expect to see them to.

Move yeah, repeat right.

Obviously we were wrong, but there ain't nothing busted right moving on to the next round, the next None of my Femily members, I don't think.

I don't think nobody's in a way of Boston right now. Like Boston been struggling for what five years, to win it. So I don't set nobody in the in the path now that they can't knock off.

It was a basic Boston. I don't see nobody that can't knock off. Do you think so you think Boston's gonna win championship? I mean both, you know, predictive predicted right now? Yeah, you think it's the time.

Yeah, it's that time. Yeah, yeah, gotta be.

They don't got to be. We watched the Buffalo Bills. They gotta be. I mean, you know, teams not get over the hump now, man.

I mean, if Boston don't win it this year and it's predicted like they was the winner this team all year long, if they and it had an amazing I didn't pick them to win it.

I had Denver.

Obviously, but yeah, down there, down I'll say that it's gonna be a great finals.

We got so many Like the thing about sports Man, so it's so great because there's so many different it's compelling stories on each side.

Right.

You got the two in Dallas. That's that's like back in the day when you had to and then you had everyone else and someone else needs to step up. Derek Jones Juniors doing nineteen points a game in the last three games, all those players PJ Washington, right, Derek Lively, Like, you need those players, but they're gonna have to consistently step up. You're gonna need You're gonna have to need Tom Hardaway Junior to come off the bench and do what he do. Right, You're gonna need big games. But you got those two that you know consistently. Right, So you got those guys, and you know, then you got Minnesota who they got that young button star. But then they got these pieces, like the perfect pieces around him that you know what I'm saying that it's beautiful to watch, but you get to watch this young man still shine and no one covers his shine. He's the guy, and then everyone else understands he's a guy. You could tell the way that they all give him the ball right back, unselfish with him being the guy. That's dope to watch. Actually, so it's dope. It's dope to watch, especially players who were you know, like Cat was number one pick, that was his team before Ann got there. And to see him still understand that I can still be Kat and understand that you're Anthony Edwards takes nothing away from me.

Right, so then they go bad.

That made it, just made it a nucleus, like you know what I'm saying, Like, and I never looked at him as a great player period, But over there, I.

Think a lot of people don't watch. First of all, I don't think a lot of people watch Rudy play basketball. I think because of his height, you expect a certain style. But if you understand what he's great at, why he's won three Defensive Player of the Years, and understand why he's great, and don't look at him as, oh he's forted to lock people down because he's defensive player, the heere that whole notion of that is gone. But what he covers up for the entire team you don't even you don't understand, like I know, and I know we gonna see him get dunked on and all that, Like that was like Zozoe didn't care about getting dumped on. You can dunk on me all you want, but what he covered up for our team was invaluable. And so it's a reason he's winning these Defensive Player of the Years. Not saying that Bam shouldn't win it or you know, or other players shouldn't win it, but Bro I watched him in Utah before he left, and I watched defensively what he did, and I said, oh, I have way more respect for Rudy because I got to watch him defend. I just watched him the whole game, and I just seen how everything was filtered to him, like you know how hard that is to be every and he's not the quickest feed. You know, it's a certain lineups that they would put in that would that would hurt us because they put young, shorter guys that can shoot in and he's not that mobile to do that. But what he is great at, he is an architect at what he's great at. But no one's want to give him credit because you know, he's not the player that we think that a big guy like that should be. But it's the reason he got three of them things right.

And it's great to see how and it's cool to see how that team looks now like it's a team and they were, like Joki said it on the press conference, that team is kind of built to beat them. Of all the teams that played them, they built because they got too big that can that one is one of both play good defense.

They got too like they built to beat every everybody shopped on the deal. When it happened, you have to you have to foll one of them out in order to beat them. You then they got nas Read, and then they got nas Read. That is he's big, he can shoot, and he got a motor like the it. When it happened, everybody was like, Oh, that's dumb. I need to get five draft picks and this and that and that was everybody thought it was a dumb Minnesota. Great job, and now we have to see what we're gonna do with the picks that we got, how they're going to eventually show his face in ten years or have a loan. But right now, in the now, they made a move that put them right where they wanted to be. And that right there is a GM and a you know, and a group that should be up for an award for how they put that team together.

Do you see comparisons we obviously we got We talked about the Tom Crane connection, but watching right now, I know a lot of people like to.

Call him Jordan long lost sign and stuff like that.

But but you see from your perspective, because for me, when I see it, like you said, we ain't seen games like this is eighteen years ago when you did it. When you look at it from your perspective as you watch the name coach, and do you see the celebrities similarities as much?

Do you call it out?

I mean, I mean you could.

You could see that he patent some of Jordan's move like fade aways, stuff like that, But as far as him doing a lot of the things that Jordan did, no, I don't.

I don't see that.

So when they started talking about comparison to Jordans, I look at them like they're crazy. But uh, the young man is in the league of his own, on the path of his own, and he clearly is a great ball player, so you can't take that from him. Okay, but they said that about Jimmy Butler, Like Jimmy Butler's Jordan's son.

You know what I'm saying. He doing Jordan's type things.

So here we go again, you know, to say, now, there's there's never gonna be anohing Jordan. I don't care how much you patton, how much you play and try to look, You're never going to be like Jordan's. So it's safe to say that he's the go for you who Jordan's he's your go My goal. My goal is Kobe Bryant. Oh okay, I mean well that's that's changed that.

My goal is Dwayne Way. And then Kobe Bryan is the greatest player to me. Let's do it like that.

I respect that. I can respect that. That's my goal about jumping like Spider.

My goal is the Way. Yeah. Then Kobe is the greatest player to me.

I like that.

I like that.

Say to save both of you, guys, the playoffs have been the enjoy with you. The playoffs have been great. I you know, we talked about it on the on the Wine down too. Is you know I was ready for the next Razine to step up and take take take the charge. And you got it right, you got Tyrese Haller Burden over there in Indiana. That that young team, which I like that. I liked. Hold on, let's talk about that Indiana New York game. Okay, Now, New York down three rotation players, some injury for the most part. Right, That's that's tough. But once again, a game seven in the Garden, it's still tough to win that game. And Indiana came out and executed their game plan from the very first play and it was beautiful to watch. Now, I thought if New York would have toughened the game up, Indiana has to learn how to go to that next level of toughness. Like and when we played Indiana, they was tough, they wasn't as talented. This is a very talented, deep team. Them guys that come off that bench, I don't even know those dudes, but I'm getting to know those dudes. Jackson shout out to you. I'm getting to know these too. That they can hoop and they're well coached. Rick Rick Carlo as an amazing coach, and so they're well coached. And Tyrese had to tell you he had an All Star game. And I love that they went in there in their game seven in New York and they took that game. They weren't given that because the Knicks wasn't just giving it to them. You know, they played tough. So shout out to the young team that no one is going to give a chance. They're not gonna give them a chance against Boston and they shouldn't beat Boston. But don't tell them that because they probably no one thought they should beat the Knicks, So you don't know what's gonna happen in the series. But that's a good team. That's a good young team. So, like, the game is in such a good place and it's good to see these young players take what's stairs like, stop waiting. Yeah, you got the team, you got the talent. Next year is not promised because next year becomes Now. You've been in the lead twelve to fifteen years and now it's over. Now you're getting moved around. Now you're getting different roles. So that's why when I was I ain't going out like that in two thousand and six. This is your moment. Don't get that up for nobody, especially if you like, go get it. It's yours if you want it? Who want it? Who wanted That's what man. I'm so excited to see who's gonna get it? Man? All these young dudes. Oh makes me excited to watch the game.

Bro. I got invited to Boston as soon as the game was over with. It was like, Yo, you're gonna fly in.

I was like what.

Boston?

Okay, Yeah, let's go and Boston And I was with Boston last year. Yeah, you have a relationships, so that's why you were able to do that. Yeah, so last year the heat, you know, Miami Boston ain't really you know, he was my dad, but you know what, my dad don't have to have no lord.

To the team coming out. I'm a fan, I could be anybody.

You don't have to have at all. No, you ain't in the league. No more about ain't sending you free tickets? Come to the game.

They don't go over here, say they come to a game. Now, I ain't seen them. I don't even know the people no more. Without the Wade you you.

Don't get nothing, you know, so talk about it. They don't give me nothing.

I almost wanted to talk about the father said relationship, because this is clearly father something all day. But before I do that, what are your thoughts on the w n b A WOW and the progression of where it's at now.

I love the progression. I love that the n w n b A is where they But I think that they deserve more money. You know what I'm saying. That's that's the number one thing. I think they deserve a lot more money than they getting a lot of those players. They they're just as good as we are as me and are they shoot just as good as it is almost like golf, when you see women's playing golf, right, women pretty much better than men in golf. So basketball, the women look better than us. Sometimes they shoot better. They so they deserve more. So that's what I think they deserve more.

Now, last time we talked about Kaitlyn Clark has just got her shoe deal. Now since that moment, Asia just got to announce her shoe deal.

Yeah, shout out to shout out to the a one, shout out to Asia Wilson. She is deserving of it. She has earned it. And you know, things happen at the right time and in due time. And I know everyone wanted her to have one first, probably before Kaitlyn got a shoe deal. But I think, like I said on the last I think Kaitlyn clark shoe deal was deserved and needed. And it's not even about what she did in the NBA. That's about her brand that's around the that's so big around the world. And so you know, it's gonna be a lot of young girls that's going to play volleyball and basketball. Know, the sports is gonna just gonna rock Caitlyn clark sneakers, right, But now it's gonna be a lot of young girls around the world that's going to rock the A ones and I and I reached out to Ag and I let her know, I can't wait to buy my daughter a pair of your sneaks. I can't wait to throw coff in a pair of of A ones. It's because she's been that, She's been that woman since we've known about Asians. He's consistently stayed at this level. She's a goat already and she has so much left to go in this game. And so man, congrats to her. And it's happening, man like it's happening. You know, we keep seeing it happen in real time, and you know it's I think Asia said it best. Now that the lights are bright and that they own the w they just gotta perform. They gotta perform, and you know, this is what they've been waiting on, and they've been performing behind the scenes for a long time. But now the lights are bright and everyone wants to see them perform because now it becomes the haters come that that don't want success for you, after they've been crying about you getting sess fact and so now people are going to not want them to have the success. But you know, we want them to keep going up as they're going. Shout out to the Chicago Sky. We got our first win although our knew coach. Shout out to t Spoon, Shout out to the new ownership group in Chicago. We got our first win this season with our new group. So uh, I'm excited and I'm excited to go to the home opener in Chicago. So now, I heard the other.

Day about somebody in the Vegas Did you hear about saying about teams getting more money? But did you hear what having in Vegas as far as like being I'm not sure the whole details of the specifics about it, but like.

The city or somebody's giving them a distial money. Yeah, addition, one hundred thousand East player for what you think about this? Okay, what I loved about that is think about how much money they bringing bringing into the city of Vegas and they're not benefiting from it, and so somebody made a smart decision to allow them to benefit from it, and so paying each one of the players one hundred thousand dollars for pretty much their likeness and the image of what they bring to the city, like those small businesses, those restaurants around or those casinos. They have people indos because they're coming to watch the aces. They at the parades. You know how much money was made while they had those two parades back to back. They drink it, they eat, and they they party it. So shout out to that city. I don't know who made that decision, but whoever made that decision, smart move, and other people need to take and they likeness that they jerseys. They making money off their jersey. They're not getting paid off of that. So yeah, that was a smart move for somebody to come up with that.

Yeah, now we go.

I'm just go switch to the golf town because you kind of mentioned it a little bit. How's the golf game going next?

I mean exactly, how's golf game? Look? You want to see what's next? Because do you watch their first one? You're like, next, please get to the next.

One's ugly just because he got a hold in one. He could talk.

You want me to go get my Holy One trophy and you want to show you the Holy One and everything. You know how terrible golfers are. Even terrible golfers argue and thinks like I'm terrible, I'm good and terrible.

Okay, but but I'm not as terrible as him. So I'm like, I could be terrible in one sport. Yeah, but you know what, played eight you could be terrible one.

But what is going pops, pups, puffs think he can get great at golf? About working on everything at one time.

I ain't say nothing about it.

We just left the Masters. Don't let me bring coach Fitzgerald on this show and talk about how you was gonna go home and work on everything on the whole game. You're gonna work on the whole game at the same time.

He won the second time at the Masters, we was tied up. He went back and he won, So now he could talk ship.

But the truth is, I mean, he a little better than me, just a little, not that much.

He's just as terrible as Yeah, I'm not that good, but I'm I played seventh sports other than this, so let's talk about them then, the ones he was averaging, by the way, So but.

I was average. He never he never added up to average.

One of the greatest athletes of all times. I am no me. Oh you on record, Oh that's right, said junior behind.

But guess what it says, you know, that doesn't say Julius my name.

I need to get that change. By the way, Jr. Talk anybody out there just listening to find us. We gotta put junior behind everything. Got to put Wade Junior on my jersey.

Not to mention it. Hold on, he won't even us the junior.

So one day he came to my house and he was like, Bro, I got to change my name to Dwayne Wade Junior because you might started using my name.

And taking my bank account silt. Bro, when I got money, how to start thinking about this? We both signed the same name. Yeah, So he was like he was a junior props from the Hoodna, Listen, I wasn't one of those kids that hood. I was one of those kids that grew up with his name on lights, what on bills? Bro, I had all kinds of stuff in my name when I was trying to fix my credit. No, he grew up with my name me being better than him. So now he's better than me. That's that's what he grew up. What are you talking about? Listen, When the call out did come up, it's your name, when the washing machine and your name. You know how many things I had to pay off to get my credit. Take.

I was like, I would never I would never do that to my sons. You know what I'm saying, Like, Yeah, but we had.

The same name.

Call him up and asked him for it first.

You know, this is before you can call me up and ask me if anything. I grew up with this. I got this bad credit from y'all. You ain't get no bad credit for Oh, you ain't know that. You ain't know that I had to pay off some stuff because it was your name and my name. I ain't tell you. I ain't know nothing about that, Bro.

I don't tell nobody on the on the Microphoneig, I don't know nothing about it.

You're gonna spring some ship on what kind of ship? Bro? You're struck it on me? No, you didn't know when I called when I when I called to get my credit, right, they sprung it on me. You think I knew about it.

They ain't had nothing to do with me. So I just brung it back on the first time I ever heard that, shiit what? Yeah, the first time you heard it all for you?

So look, Bob, I'm in college and now I know I'm about to get ready and go to the pros and so I'm trying to learn and how I'm trying to see, like get my credit type because I got some student loans and stuff on my credit and so I'm trying to get my credit type because I'm about to go and start making money now. So you know, I have people kind of teaching me how to do this. And so I was calling like, Okay, why my credit score so bad? No, this is real talk. I'm like, is my credit score so bad? And so I started going and they was like, yeah, you got this in your name. I'm like, yo, me and my dad got the same name. Like y'all got to take off my credit Like that car that got repolled, that's off my yo.

Do I like the report man, Like the report man and show up. Nobody knew that before.

Now listen, we broke, we poor, We was poor. I'd like to report man and show up that day one time. Yo. We got so many good story I love it a report man. It was like repol mother. I was in the room, like, oh, yes, that's the first time I heard that you had to pay some bills though, yeah, bro, I had to I had to get so I had to pay. I had to try to get my money right, because I remember I took some money too, and I took I took a loan from my agent before I came into the NBA, So I had money into my me trying to be like a smart young man. I bought like the things I needed to get, like to live, but also to I paid off my credit debt and so that took a lot of my money that I took from hat because my dad had a lot of debt.

The money, Yeah, ain't no, I ain't about no doubt.

Yeah, it's all good now, everything all good now thin you're telling me now like thirty years later, Well I took care of it. What you was gonna do.

After seven years?

That shit go away?

Man?

All right? So now I love it. I ain't gonna lie like this.

This this like the history the history of like the stuff that you've been going through in life, as far as just how Chicago was. And for those who aren't from Chicago or don't about the Midwest because you grew up you.

Was born in Chicago too, Yeah, born away.

How is it for someone who doesn't know how Chicago Because we talked about Chicago tough a lot, but like just growing up in those days, back in the days, just from.

Where you were and to where you are now, Like what how did that make you who you are now?

Like?

What what did Chicago do for you? Guys? And the good end the bad?

Like you got moments where you're making sugar sandwiches, you make him. I don't know if you made any man ain't sandwiches or anything like that, but like stuff like that, like how much did that make who you are today?

Both of you?

For me, that was the way of life right, so we couldn't get around it, and uh, it didn't really play a role. And who I am today? I think you know today, I am who I am because of the way he paved the role he paid for us to get about of you know Chicago. But don't get it wrong, in Chicago's a beautiful city. You know, anybody can live there. If they take the violence out, it'll be a great, great city. And it had nothing to do with you know, who I am today. I think who I am today is because of what I went through and and how this guy right here made it better for us.

Yeah, it's just man, I think it's it's just a it's rough, you know what I mean? Like the exterior ofgo Chicago's beautiful. They just said, like it's beautiful, but it's rough, like you just you just you know, as you see them kids, sometimes you're like, this is a rough kid. Don't mean you know, but it's just it's just a rough town and it's beautiful parts of it. But when you're growing up in the hood, like everyone had, everywhere has their hood, everywhere has their their ghetto or whatever we want to call it. But when you're growing up in a rough city with in a rough hood, the pores, it's gonna toughen you up. And so we tough man. We you know what I'm saying, we can bro we can we can do anything. We can. We can move like That's that was my mentality. I can move mountains, you know what I'm saying. If I can go through that, if I can go through those hard days. I mean even the weather like this is going from the weather on, like I'm walked two miles of school in the snow, bro cold. For reasons, ain't We had no no gloves, no ear muffs. I'm talking about ears, red hands, numb feet, numb we had that. That was just a way of life and so like you just it's just tough. And so I mean, like you know, like even now, like yeah, we we we live a different life and that life is still being lived the one we talk about in many communities around the world, but definitely in Chicago. So little Dwayne walking and doing the same thing I was doing. But yeah, we've you know, we've been able to pave a different life and be able to experience something different, which has opened us up to you know, we're still rough, we still a little rough around the edges that time, but it's opened us up to something else. We've got to experience something else, you know. And because of that ball, you know what I mean, Like that ball took us out of the hood and allowed us to to be where we are today. That ball and you know, obviously you know being you know, God blessed us, but that damn basketball, bro, that's crazy. Yeah, it's the ball got us out. Like you know what I mean, we have like a you know, like a Steve Jobs come out, you know, somebody like that in our family. From the standpoint of.

Like be there, I'll still be in that state. That ball didn't get us out. Yeah, when you made the speech.

Hall of fame.

That's your first time, your first time hearing as it was happening in life like a real time speech.

Yeah yeah, he didn't he I ain't know nothing about that speech was coming. So what was the life for us to hear that speech? What was the life for you to write that speech? To him?

Like? That moment was amazing as speech, bro, But for me, I felt like that speech opened the door for all the fathers of America. Like we all heard that speech, and we all cried to that speech, and it made a difference in us being das across the globe. To me, it wasn't just for me. It was great that it was it was me that he you know, he opened it up to, but for everybody that's been through so much in life, as far as dads, you know, go, I thought that that speech paved the way for all us dads across the globe.

Yeah, I and I. So I did the speech obviously, I practiced it over and over, and then I watched it after that night when I got back, once we got back from the party and everything, I cried like a baby. I cried for like three four hours after.

I got home.

Bro, I cried me too. Bro, I couldn't stop crying. And the reason is because, as my dad just said, like I wrote that speech to my father, but I wrote that speech to fathers because I deal with the same things, and no one cares what the father goes through. Man, I'm just being real, Like it's emotional for me to even think about no one cares what we go through and what we deal with because you know, rightfully, so like you know, it's been strong women's have to raise kids for the very longest, a lot of it without men, right, but no one understands the reasons why all the time, and no one gives up about the reasons why, right, right, It ain't just you don't want to be around, right, And so it hurts sometime being in the position of a father because you don't really have a lot of say so in a sense of not like you ain't the iron fists, so you all the iron fists and that right there, You don't always that ain't just your only role, that's not the only thing you provide, and so you know, it's unfortunate, man, you know, And I love my mother, you know what I mean. I love my mother to death. But I think as I continue to grow older and as I continue to have experiences as a father, I appreciate my dad and what he went through to be in my life because I know how hard it is bro especially when relationships don't work out. Your kids are gonna, you know, they gotta deal with that, and they got to choose, even if you ain't even trying to have them choose, they gotta choose, because y'all didn't choose each other, right, And so that right there was emotional for me, man, because that was for all fathers, and especially fathers that go through what I know he went through, and he goes through and without through it. And it's not just the strife of like the not being able to be in your kids. It's just the strife. Even as a young man. You don't get to a point where you're gonna feel like my dad felt like, I mean, I'm bigger than you, right, you don't know what you're talking about. That testosterone start popping up in me. My test got big, I started getting you know, girls start liking me. I started feeling myself and it's hard. It's gonna be hard with your son that, you know what I mean. One day he's gonna look you out of an eye, because he's gonna challenge you. And so man, that was yeah, bro, that was for everybody. And so I was glad that my dad didn't know what was coming because you know, I definitely have my whole life like I've always you know, tried to say thank you to my father for what he did for the game of basketball for me. But I just felt like on my biggest moment, you know, it's a lot of things that happened in our life. Like I said, my biggest one of my biggest moments when I got drafted and my dad and our relationship was in a place and my dad wasn't at the draft, and that always hurt me, like that always hurt me that, But you make decisions in real time, right. But when I got a chance to have that moment again, I was not gonna allow my I was not gonna allow that moment to pass without my father understanding that understood, understanding what he meant mean to me and what he meant to me and what he meant to me for that putting that ball in my hand, and you know what I'm saying, and making me as tough as he did, because the only way y'all made it in this world that I'm making it because he made me as tough as as I am. So yeah, that but that it was definitely for him, but man, it was definitely for fathers everywhere. So father is it coming up?

Yeah?

Are y'all looking forward to it? Yeah, I'm golfer. You know when you're when you're when you're a father, you're always thinking about what you can get.

But what I want this year?

But you know, you don't never want to ask for it. You're just hoping that it just drops in your lap. You just want ship to drop your lap. So no, but I'm just happy to still be alive and to be here for another Father's Day if that happens, And that's one of the greatest moments.

Is I am my father. I only got one son, and I appreciate that. Man. I'm proud of being a father.

This kid right here that made the world shake, so to speak, like one of the greatest kids ever. Man.

So I'm just proud for that. If I don't get nothing on Father's Day, I got him.

So sometimes I don't get him nothing.

You got me.

I heard it heard, I know, I know. My birthday just passed. Yeah, you don't get everybody, man, My parents will get something all the time. You might get some flowers, you might get to have your birthday call. Don't send me no flowers though my mom. My mom was going with my mom. But then sometimes sometimes I'm gonna do it, you know. But no, We're gonna be together on father I like the way I like.

The way he moved because you know, you you don't have to suspect that he's gonna do something every time. You know, it's just having him is the biggest thing. Like, you know what, I got him, So it don't matter if I get some of my Father's Day. I got this dude right here, right, you know what I'm saying because.

I'm three five telling y'all I'm every day in my That's right, dude, you're looking outside of y'all to each other. Father that you getting like with some tools and some some times what I don't. I just want to golf on Father's Day. Nothing. I don't need no gifts. I just want to beat him on Father's Day. You want to gold on Father's Day and be with be with my pops, my listen, that's all I want to do. Like people don't understand like I've lett I've let that go. I've had a lot. I told you I had a lot of fire. The day where I woke up and I had a pencil out of bed, a pencil he was writing. That was that was the gift that Zion brought me. Like you know what I'm saying, Like you know, if y'all ain't gonna get creative and don't even get it, don't even do it. No, but I'm cool, like I'm we we're older and we just want experiences. Man, I don't feel I don't.

Really look for not on Father's Day. But yeah, we're playing golf on Father's Day. I think I look forward to that.

We traveled to Scotland. My wife sent you to Scotland for Fathers That out that right there, it's an amazing trip.

That was an amazing trip.

You want to go, thank you, Frankie Scotland. Scotland was fired. We're gonna go to that means about the wife. We're gonna definitely go up into the wife conversation a little bit. He's been married seven times. Oh he's trying to catch up.

So now we definitely want to talk about that because you have to experience being married. You said this, Juni, Juny, Juny. What was that you have some experience?

We have a lot of experience. I had a lot of experience of being married. Yeah, three times, matter of fact.

Oh okay, we'll good. Fortunately, so we had Ja Shetty on the podcast. We did our last episode on the on the Y podcast. And this is Ja Shetty's drink right here, meant his wife. It's called Junie. Yep, this is pretty good, man. I've been smashing everything I come over here. Thanks man, I appreciate you. And then and they sent it the next day, your Jay, your team is money pot sent the next day after the interview. So shout out to Junie for a happy mind, and and Ja Shetty and and the missus on this This is fire yes nice yeah man' just some nice little sparkling tea. You know what I'm saying. I got all the good things in here for you. That nice. I messed with that. I messed with that.

Yeah.

So any marriage.

Wisdom wisdom, I mean, yeah, let her be her, let her do her, you continue to do you. Everything works out fine? Whatever, what if it's not that easy? I don't want you to do you.

That's what you do her?

What does she wants you to do her? And you want to do you give us that wisdom?

Ain't no wisdom in that. It ain't happening.

I mean just there's nothing you can do with a woman because you know, the woman rules the world, so you just gotta let her be her.

Man. That's that's how I look at it.

Like, you've been married three times. I don't know why we're taking marriage advice. First of all, you ain't.

I mean, well, you should take masrias advice. Me.

If I've been married three times, I know breaking down, I know the road I had, maybe I had to bad.

Hey man, I'm talking about my MoMA. Man, don't do that. But hey, this ain't no safe space. Let's hit it right.

Like, So, a man that's been married three times, I've probably been married forty years of my life, forty out of sixty seven. Yeah, that's crazy something like that. So you should take advice from me, you know what I'm saying.

So, I mean, marriage is not bad.

It depends on how you look at it. You know, you'd rather keep it together than to lose it, you know what I'm saying. So stay with it. If it works, it works. If it doesn't work, move on.

He's talking from sixty seven year old Wade because the twenties, in the thirties way didn't think that way because you obviously, well you know what, you put some years in, pops, right, put it years. So you did team with my mom, and you did twenty something with step mom at thirteen fourteen with and now you're done yell for some years.

Half of my life, I've been a dad. You got to remember I was a dad at fifteen years old. You're too older, son to my sister. I was one of the premiere dads back in the day at fifteen, fifteen years old.

Yeah, it don't make no sense. My mom had two kidsm I missed. I'm just saying because it's true, Like I want to make it seem like my mom. Well my mom was seventeen. Yeah, and my mom had two kids, and my dad was fifteen and he got with my mom, boy, what are you doing? Somebody should have smacked you in the back of your head. Get your little wow. But uh, you know God did. God did.

Yeah, Yeah, he made it happen.

Yeah, God did. That's how we got so we left first of all. No, no, no, that's how we got tri guil, because without your guill, this family would this family will not be held up at all. Everybody, everybody give me a lot of credit, and you know I do bring what I bring. But the one who holds this family up, she'll be and has held this family up all of us. Individual is trigger. And so they had her first where she's she's my oldest sister, and they needed to have her before they had me. By you, I'm sorry, but they needed to have her before they had me because having me without her with them didn't have been crazy. So shout out to my sister, the foundation and the rocket this way, clanch.

How do you handle turbulent times in your marriage? Ye have three different versions what I mean by turbulent like disagreements, just not seeing how I how do you manage it?

At this age, I just overlook overlooked ship.

You know what I'm saying. When you're younger, you want to fight everything.

When you was younger, you want to fight and all that kind of see go get drunk, and at this age, I just.

Is what it is. You know, wake up tomorrow something new. So I don't I don't even pay no attention on.

So you said you don't pay her no attention on, I don't pay it, Okay, turbulent times, I don't pay no attention like it don't last in my relationships. Like I said, I let her be her. And if you let her be her ninety percent of the time, you're good. But you have to let her do her. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about.

I know what I know.

I know.

But now and then in the reverse, what if you don't get what if you feel like you're not, let be who you are.

I'm gonna always be who I am, regardless, regardless, always gonna be who I am.

Like you don't like me for who I am, then we're gonna break up.

I'm gonna be me no matter what.

You ain't lying about that.

I ain't gonna change that.

I respect that.

Let me be me, right, That's the best thing you could do is let you be me, because when you start turning the tables, then.

Shit goes left quick quick. I'm for real, So just let me do me and I'll let you do you.

Paul, I got a question and not really like because this is obviously you know we're gonna We're gonna go into this more as we get a chance to have microphones in front of us. But if you had an opportunity to get an ear of someone that's a black man who hasn't taken care of himself health wise, if you had to get his ear right now, what would you say to black men who are afraid to go to the doctor, who are afraid to check on themselves and see what they're dealing with inside?

Man, Seeing how.

Cancer effected my life, I would say, if I had a chance to do it all over again, that, you know, we should all go to the doctor there and make sure that we're you know, in good standards. Because death is a silent killer. That's put it like that. It's a silent killer. A lot of people die and I don't know why they died, and a lot of people don't even find out why that person dies. So death is a silent killer, man, So check yourself out. There's a lot of men out here that don't know what what they got, what they're going through. Like me, I was one I had cancer and didn't even know I had cancer. And I had a urologist two or three years before I even found out.

And so it's sad.

It's sad to say, but if you don't go to the doctor and you don't check out what's going on with you, you're probably gonna just pass away.

So all us out here need to do.

More, you know, divillages and making sure we're good because it's a lot going on out here.

Like we eat bad. You know what I'm saying. The food, the food to eat.

The wrong type of foods and stuff like that.

And you know, you look at them a lot of other things look at think of thinking of it.

Uh, black men.

Have a chance of dying from cancer nine out of ten, and that's that's bad. You think about say, let's let's go to Chinese. Chinese people they're like zero percent, but.

They don't have they don't have prost.

Because of the way they eat and the way we eat. It's so it's so different. So I would say every man should check their steps out. You know what the problem is with us as me and period is our ego agree. We're scared to talk about things that we're going through. We don't want people to look down on us if our toasterone is wrong.

You know what I'm saying. We don't want nobody know, so our ego gets.

In the way. We want to have a conversation with other conversation to learn.

What it is the doctor, because we got this ego pro like we yeah I'm good, Yeah, I'm strong.

Yeah, weakness, we don't want to show. Some of it is because of you know, this country that we've you know, we've been in and we come from you know, way before us where weakness cannot be right, I mean Jesus Christ. And so you know, we take on a lot of that generation generation generation keep taking on that saying no weakness mentality, and you got to stop looking at certain things as weakness, you know what I mean, Like even the education of like right now our family we're we're we're getting educated through our genetic testing. So now we're understanding through genetics what is just for you and it's going to be for you and you can't run away from it, right, So let's talk about that. And so now we're at that space now, so we can help future generations of ways understand what it is that's in our genetics that is just coming for you and how can you nip that in the butt earlier? Right? And so people don't have conversations about it, right, like your grandparents don't talk about your parents talk about it with you. You're not gonna it's not going to be something that you know about. So you go to doctor, they say, hey, anybody in your family dealing with this? You like, no, I don't know nobody dealing with it all alone. You are dealing with it, but no one shares that. And so then my dad said, man, we really are advocates, you know, we want to continue to be for health period, but definitely for black men to start taking our health more serious. We're dying too young, and a lot of us, like my dad says, a lot of reasons why, Like we can all pick at it, but most importantly, no one wants to see it and no one wants to know. But if life is the most precious thing that you have, why not you know what I'm saying, Like, why wouldn't you? This is this is the most precious thing that you've been given, is life of use?

And you know, so, yeah, you talk about the health, like what are some of the health what are you doing right now for your health? And what are some of the things you advocate for? You try to do to try to keep healthy and stay healthy.

Now.

I mean for me, I work out a lot, you know, I don't eat that much. I eat maybe on the average, I eat like one time a day. It depends it needs to eat better. I eat like one time a day. I don't have to eat better.

I just got to do better. You know what I'm saying.

You can eat fruit in the morning, then eat one meal and then eat fruit.

Yeah, but that one meal can be something that goes against where you should be. Right. That's what we have a hard time letting certain things go because we only eat certain things too. And that's the thing about us, right if we haven't been colcurt enough to go out and try things outside of just what we eat, which is bad for us. It's really bad for us now. But we love it. We love what. We love our food, right, Like me, I love burgers. So I'm like, I'll eat a solid early in the day to get to that burger late in the day. And I'm thinking I'm doing something, you know, saying that burger it's long as me old.

Oh my god, love them though, I love them. But yeah, I tried. I tried, be again, I tried everything. I tried not to eat meat, be pork all that, and it's just it just depends on how you want to feel. What makes you feel good, you know that's what that's what you eat, what makes you feel good. Because if if you eat.

Burgers and everything that makes you feel good, then that's what you eat.

You know what I'm saying.

But for me, I feel like you know the way I eat now, you know, one meal of the day and stuff like that, I feel more healthy. And then I try to work out. I want to look good. I want to smell good. You know, all of those things play a role, like your bread feel You know.

What I'm saying. You walk up and you talk to somebody, you want them not to mention women, even learning how to go to the dentists, like we was afraid. We're afraid of the dnist. Yeah, we want to smell that stuff that come out your t Yeah when they do, I gotta clean tomorrow. By the way you smell that stuff that come out. Bro, man, listen, we got we gotta take. We have to do more. But I would say the first thing is and not everyone is not able. Okay, so everyone is not able, right Like when I was growing up. I wasn't able to always have. But if you are able and you can reach your primary care, you gonta have to have your primary care. You're gonna have a physician or doctor. Right, you have someone who's a primary for your primary care. You have to be willing to ask questions. You have to be willing to allow them to do, hopefully the job that they are a positioned to do. Now, everyone don't care about you the same, and so if you if they see you don't care about yourself, they really ain't gonna care, right you understand me. If they can get you in and out without you asking any questions, they're gonna get you in and out because they got to make money. And so if you're gonna do it, start asking questions. Start making this real, because life is too precious for you to just close your eyes and be like, oh, I guess I'll wait till something happen. It could be too late, right, you know what I mean? And I'm speaking as you know, someone who, like my dad said, was who dealt with stuff. And you don't think and you feel like, oh, I'm healthy, I look good because because you look good in the mirror, the inside is inside and it's talking in the inside. You got to get in there and listen. And so we got to do better.

We got a lot better.

So what are you doing outside of Yeah, so I do that and then you know, obviously you know, like I said, I travel a lot, and that's terrible for my eating and so like you know, I try to put myself on it. When I'm home, I try to eat well. Like you know, me, I'm all about my products, like I do all the thorn stuff. So I'm always you know, putting the things that I'm not putting in me. I'm getting them in my shakes like I'm big. I'm big on my shakes in the morning, like you know, I work out like this morning, I was up, you know, worked out Suna steam like I do all that. You know, I do yoga, like I stay active. I think being active is very important. Stop sitting down, get up, move, be active. But you got you have to go and you have to learn what you got to get better at, like what you got to cut out, what you gotta you know, adjust or because it's it's all hard. I'm not speaking from a person who can just do this. I'm speaking a person who was dealing with it in real time. I was like, I'll start eating more silist, I start more greens. I gotta start. I don't want to do that. I wanted them fries, the truffle.

You look when you look at yourself in the mirror and you see yourself changing, and you know, you start saying, damn, what I'm gonna do to make myself look good again? You know what I'm saying. So that's that's very important for me. So I work out hard all the time to try to make myself look good. You know, I want to be young. I want to feel young. I want to feel active. I don't want to be tied down where I can't walk or you know, things like that. So it's important on how you eat, how you you know, work out and stuff like that.

Like look in the mirror and act yourself. Is this the person I like?

Wind down? I have a special treat to everybody. I didn't know if I was gonna need to bring this out or not, but for some reason I needed to everybody this is the new fine jar Bob's interception income job. We're gonna set that right here. Well, yes, first of all, Bob phone always go off and that's about it for the last time. I was waiting to pull it up in every interview we do. Bob is notorious for his phone going on. So now we're about to start finding people. I get it. So before you leave here, sir, I tap in, I tap in. You need to tap into your new jar tap tap in. My gosh, I can't really, I got to spoil on airplane mode. Yeah, shut out. I'm turning this like a off. Shout out to Carena, shout out to shout out to Karena for making sure we had this for today. You know, she came in with it right and I was like, oh, she got some food. Oh, Bob into rush interruption income jar. You see what just happened. He always do this on the pod. So we're gonna put this right here, and we're gonna get this filled up. It's gonna be nice. That's gonna we're gonna draw, gonna be huge. It's gonna be a part of the podcast. Everybody, Welcome to a new character on the podcast. You know what's crazy? You know you know who it was that hit me right? Yeah? Your wife? Of course it wasn't even he hit me. She was calendar or something. It don't matter. That's why my family even in here because I don't want nobody to add something to my calendar. And it's like that notification wasn't good.

Turning my phone off?

That was great? Was back. We were saying as far as the meeting, I can't believe this. What about what is the.

They've been They've been calling you and I don't know how does make you feel? I wonder how makes you feel? As the son when he got pictures of y'all out in the bout and been like that's the way's dad, and about Zay's like, why you bringing it up?

Bob, Let's let's say that what that sounds like?

That every saying like yo, that's like almost like like his brother. Yeah, man, look at man, That's where I get my looks from you. I'm happy, they said. I'm like, yeah, you know what I'm saying. I know what my future looks like. No, he could look and do it, bro keep yourself. You know, he had a he had a moment where I had to let him, let him know, Pops, you gotta wheel it back. But he built it back.

The pictures. While I looked at.

Her, you looked older when you were younger, because you know you'll got looked at older. Yeah, he pulled it. I mean I mind too. When I was playing, I had some moments that you're like, boy, what was you going through? But he willed it back in, got itself right, got herself together. He's he got he got that good woman that told him you dressed terrible, you know what I mean, Like, you know all that work.

She said that every day I leave about the house, I have to sneak close out. I was like, I'm gonna way, this ship will be on woman. Put them together too.

But now you look good and so But every time we get an article with some day the wade daddy and this and that, you be feeling himself, y'all got to stop that.

No, I mean they're right, you know, I mean, like, you know, it's a good feeling to know that, you know, people look at you like that. You know what I'm saying, somebody else liter to and cd the work you're putting in. Uh, you know, you're trying to look good. You're trying to, you know, make your family look good. It's not just about me, it's about all them, You're right. So, yeah, I'm glad people look on the inside and see the work I'm putting in love.

It was a good you see y'all see where I get my politician? That was a political answer, like a political Yeah, yeah, you're right, You're right. It does. It's more than just you.

You're gonna wrap this up at a minute, but I kind of want to just you know, this has been a dope season as far as you've been having some dope Have you been watching this podcast?

Like the stuff he's done since the Hall of Fame.

And a few I haven't been watching it, you know what I'm saying, But I've seen a few of them. Yeah.

So now, is there was there any podcast that was d for you where it was like you didn't expect that, or like, was any I don't want to say favorite because they were all great to me, but as far as like something that was like some memorable moments.

For you, Yeah, I mean, first of all, and I jumped into this podcast space to learn, right, I wanted to see if I even wanted to do it. I wonder if I could do it, And I'm so thankful for you know. I think we had like eleven, almost nine to eleven different guests on in the first season, and we had some very good guests that all brought something different and I think and I feel like they all brought something different out of me. I felt like I personally got better from what I feel. It's early to the end, you know. My first episode was the the Pantheon episode at the Hall of Fame to my last episode being with Jay Shetty, and I think I evolved a lot. I think the podcast is, you know, finding this flow in his voice. I'm sure it was a perception about me starting a podcast and what it was going to be, and I'm I'm glad to once again shot our perception, even from internal people like what are y'all doing? And so now I think you're kind of getting a feel of it. You know, this this this network of you know, content that you know, we would love to see and we would love to build. It has two different voices on it. Then on the Why podcast is an opportunity for me to sit down with pantheons, right with people that are you know, a certain level of life that I get a chance to learn from that is in leadership that our grace and our goats and you know people that I view is that too in season two. I can't wait, Like I said, I can't wait to sit down with my mom and dad right to sit down on the why, which would be different than here on a wind down when we get to kind of sit back a little bit and just you know, just be a little bit more normal in a sense and not you know, not have to worry about stepping on certain you know landmarks, a certain for you know, so for and so on and so this is a this is the one good thing about the world that we live in today is it's actually allowing for people's real personalities to shine right, Like we're looking at once again, bring up Anthony Edwards. A few years ago, if you were a young up and coming star, you couldn't talk like talk now. You couldn't walk into press commerce with a beater on with san duds. Like. We're in a different time now, and so people's authenticity of who they are when they are away from the cameras are starting to be able to be out there now, you know, good or bad, who knows, But you know, I think it's showing more authenticity. But we wasn't allowed to do that, Like I wasn't allowed to like I'm always been this, you know me, but you know, in front of the camera sometimes you have to clean yourself up right when you think you need to. And it's not that it's not you're not clean, you know up by being who you are. But it just it allows for that. And so that's what the wind Down does. It allows for us to sit here and just free a little bit more in our conversations and understand, if you want to talk about something, then you'll need to come on the wind Down. If you don't, I mean, if you don't want talk about everything, they don't come on here. The WIE podcast will stay away from certain things, right, We'll keep the White podcasts away from certain things, you know what I mean? And respectfully, you know of that. Of the guests we have on, they take a lot of beatings, they take a lot of public scrutiny. Already, We're not coming on my podcast for them to continue to talk about that public scrutiny. And they come on the Wie Podcast so you can get to know the people that are behind the greatness. You know that they you know, have been able to do here. We come to shoot the ship, we come and have fun. We come to have drinks. We come to bring interruption jars like with vib them, but both of them lives under the same umbrella for me, and I think that was the one good thing about this year is that the Why podcast that everyone listened to, the fifteen episodes that you would listen to, you're going to see a mixture of both of both of these living together. And when we first decided to do it, everybody was like that, don't make no sense. I remember y'all doing that. I remember you welcome. Yeah right, so now, but let me say this, I'm sorry dad. My dad used to do a podcast which before was podcasts. Yeah, way different of his show, but it was it was it was doing a podcast. He had a cool Cruise.

Six twenty sixteen to twenty nineteen.

Yeah, it was cool. I remember that. Remember that. It was way different. It was it was dope, and it was right before pandemic and all the things happened. Where now podcasts is now a thing, right, But it was cool. He post was in the CEA before you know you work on you know this. They're trying to bring it back right now, so he's probably put under the Wine Network. We think about it to see how how much money that's gonna cost. First part, don't be throwing it out there now you're talking. You say that, Now he's gonna go and be like, Yo, don't put this on of the.

Wide network, and we're just gonna hire everybody back, and now I gotta pay for I'll stay.

In my lane. That's why I stay in my lane so much, because you know, like you said, you know, we'll think about that. I love it all right, Well, stay in your line.

Yeah, anything you're looking forward, looking forward to for the next for the next iteration that's just continued to growls out, keep doing wine downs. But as season one ends and you come into season two, anything you expect you looking forward to anything?

No, no expectations. Expectations leads to disappointment. I've let go expectations of human beings. I don't have no expectations. No more. People are going to be who they are right and you need to you need to see that. So I have no expectation of this podcast. I want this podcast, this this network, I want this content space, whatever we're gonna call it. I wanted to just grow naturally and organically as it is. I mean, we love to talk and so we get a chance to do that, and we get a chance to bring our own cameras in and do that and control the content that we put out. Right, I didn't I couldn't do that most of my life. Right, I was sitting in front of a podium and I was getting questions asking me, and whatever went out was controlled by the news stations and everything. Well, now we control the things that we want to talk about and what goes out. So I like this space, man, I like this, and you know, we're going to get deeper into it, hopefully, you know, as we see what the next version of you know, the why, the wind down and all the things that we're trying to do what the next version looks like. But I appreciate this year. I learned a lot. I learned a lot, you know, being associated with I Heeart, a very very huge brand. You know, we're not even close to, you know, understanding how big that brand is. But I learned a lot from from this year and what I learned and what I do want, and I also learned what I don't want, And hopefully going into year two, it's a little bit more of what I do want and what it looks like. I don't know, but we'll get to that. So you know, we're gonna take a little break. This is the last episode of the season. This is the fifteen episode right here with my dad. We're ending to here and then we're gonna take a little break and then we're gonna come back when we got our plan of how season two looks, and we're gonna rock out. I love it. Thank you, Pops. Any last words, I'm good.

Thanks Bro.

I'm going to aded it so much with your ass.

You ain't got to add at me. You just let it flow. Let it flow. They're gonna be like, Yo, that did good. Crazy.

I love it.

The Why with Dwyane Wade

Dwyane Wade sits down with pioneers in sports, fashion, music, and business for an intimate conversa 
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