Dwyane Wade says he used Heat contract dispute to teach his kids 'how to stand up for their motherf——g selves'

02/27/2025 02:02 PM

For a period of time, it seemed quite possible that Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade would spend the entirety of his NBA career with the franchise. Wade spent the first 13 seasons of his pro career with the team that drafted him with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft and was an invaluable part of every one of the Heat’s three titles in team history.

But in the summer of 2016, Wade packed up and joined another NBA team. He signed with the Chicago Bulls after he got into a contract dispute with Miami. According to Wade, he used that dispute to teach his kids a lesson.

Dwyane Wade speaks on events that led to leaving MIA for Bulls

"At end of day. Chris got his max, but Chris ain't selling no MF tickets. You see the jerseys in here? They coming to see the kid"

"We had Whiteside was up for $100M, I want young fella to get money but yall about… pic.twitter.com/23ACYyyEvA

— Heat Culture (@HeatCulture13) February 27, 2025

“So, for the first time, I just told myself — I was like, ‘Man, I got kids. I got people at home who depend on me. I’m a leader to my own family. These moments right here is the moments of teaching, and I have to teach my kids how to stand up for their motherf—— selves.’ You know what I mean?” Wade explained. “You can’t just keep taking it, you know what I’m saying? So, I had to stand on business, and I was like, ‘Well, y’all go do what y’all gon’ do and go try to get Kevin Durant and all them. I’ma do what I need to do.'”

Wade is a Chicago native, but he played for his hometown team for only one season. Across 60 games played with the Bulls in the 2016-17 season, he averaged 18.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.4 steals per contest.

The former Marquette University standout wasn’t in the prime of his career during his short stint with Chicago, but he was still a productive player.

Wade helped Chicago qualify for the 2017 NBA Playoffs, even if the team barely squeezed into the playoff picture as the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference. After getting in, the Bulls flirted with some playoff magic before guard Rajon Rondo broke his thumb.

Chicago held a commanding 2-0 series lead over the No. 1 seed Boston Celtics in the opening round and won Games 1 and 2 in Boston. In the Bulls’ Game 2 win, Wade finished tied with teammate Jimmy Butler for a team-high 22 points.

However, the Bulls went on to lose the last four games of the series and were eliminated in six games.

Wade might not have been a member of the Heat for all of his playing career, but he did finish his NBA tenure in Miami at the very least. A trade sent him back to South Florida in the 2017-18 season.

To wrap up his NBA career, he appeared in 72 games with the Heat in the 2018-19 campaign. He finished in seventh place in the league’s Sixth Man of the Year voting that season after playing a big role off the bench.

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