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Retired NBA star Dwyane Wade is losing patience with his eldest son Zaire Wade (right).
Zaire was a standout basketball player in high school. He received scholarship offers from multiple colleges, but he chose to skip college and turn professional instead.
Most fathers will do anything to help their children achieve success in life. Dwyane Wade went one step further: he bought his son a G League team.
But Zaire opted to play basketball professionally in Africa and then China – to the disappointment of his father.
On the latest episode of his podcast, Wade revealed he has given Zaire four years to figure out his life before he cuts off his funds.
“My son right now is 23 years old,” Wade said. “He didn’t go to college, we sent him right to the G League at 19. He went to Africa, he went to China, he has had no time to really figure life out,” he said.
“And so for me, my conversation with my oldest son who is really independent is, ‘Hey, you got four years. You got a buffer. You have done this. You got the next four years of your life from 23 to 27, to figure out what you want to do. Go chase what you want to chase, but hey, you got a trust fund, too, that’s going to give you that soft cushion for the next four years to do that.’”
Wade, 43, let Zaire know that he is not an ATM machine. If Zaire doesn’t get his life together in 4 years, he will be cut off financially.
“Now, when that trust fund run out, you on your own, Jojo,” Wade said. “This ain’t a gas tank, it don’t get refilled.”
Wade retired from the Miami Heat and the team retired his #3 jersey in 2020.
Wade purchased a minority ownership stake in the Utah Jazz in 2021. That gave him a minority ownership in the Salt Lake City Stars team of the G League.
The Salt Lake City Stars drafted Zaire with the 10th pick in the 2021 NBA G League draft.
Wade gave Zaire a rare opportunity to play in the NBA G League – like LeBron James did for his son, Bronny James.
But Zaire only played 12 games for the Stars.
On March 12, 2022, Zaire was placed on the injured reserve list. He never played again in the G League.
On February 4, 2023, Zaire signed with the Cape Town Tigers in Africa. The following year, he played for a pro team in China.
In short, Zaire has been a disappointment to his father, who refuses to accept failure as an option.
