“That’s the way you do it, that’s a homecoming right there. I like that one,” Dwyane Wade said as he walked to the locker room at the United Center following his Chicago Bulls debut. Despite just being one game into the season—and a number of question marks surrounding the new-look Bulls—Wade has had a lot to celebrate, and it started even before his explosive 22 point night.
The cheers from the other room can be heard as the Chicago Cubs close out the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS. It’s Saturday night, and we’re in a private room at the Joy District in the River North neighborhood of Chicago. We're here celebrating something else, though. The wait for this moment hasn't been quite as long as the 108 years since the last Cubs' World Series, but it's been a long time coming and is something people thought was equally unlikely. In a room decorated with his childhood photos, Wade is gathered with some of his closest friends, including his high school basketball coach Jack Fitzgerald, various family members, and his wife, Gabrielle Union. He's wearing a pair of all-red Li-Ning Way of Wade 5s, which are appropriately named "Coming Home."
After heartfelt speeches from one his brothers and Fitzgerald, Wade takes the mic and talks about how he found himself back in his hometown, and how this is how he always envisioned things. To the casual fan, you might assume Wade is talking about playing for the Bulls, but spending a day with him in Chicago proved that this is about more than just basketball.
Five hours earlier, on the other side of town, dozens of kids from the Chicago area were dressed head-to-toe in Way of Wade basketball gear as they hustled through a series of workouts held by Wade’s trainers at the Kroc Center Chicago. This was just the latest of countless community outreach events held by the Wade’s World Foundation and Li-Ni
"My family’s always done things since I’ve been in the NBA,” Wade said later in the afternoon. “We’ve always had a presence here in Chicago. I think now that I’m back we get more of a pulse of the city and can find out where you could really make an impact.”
The group featured a variety of athletes from ages 13-18, with different skill levels, but they all shared one thing in common: a desire to be the next hometown kid to make it—the next Dwyane Wade. As the Skills and Drills camp wound down, the hoop hopefuls participated in a timed challenge meant to replicate the one held during NBA All-Star Weekend. While there was plenty of competition in the gym, the real challenge was to beat Wade’s best score of 26.4 seconds.
With about half of the participants already done taking their shot at Wade’s score, the mood in the gym began to feel a little antsy. With each opening of the gym doors, all heads turned to see if it was finally him. Nope, just me coming back from getting a coffee and a hot dog from the snackbar. Sorry to disappoint. Then it happened. The moment the kids were waiting for. Sure, the free unreleased Wow5 sneakers and professional training was great, but the real prize was seeing Wade in the flesh.
Wade, dressed in a Li-Ning sweatsuit and all-red “Coming Home” WoW5s casually walked in and took a seat in the bleachers, dapping and hugging just about everyone on the sidelines on his way. With the Skills and Drills contest still going on, Wade split time watching and taking a look at a number of unreleased Way of Wade sneakers and apparel handed to him for approval. As if the pressure to live up to his massive $47 million contract wasn’t enough, Wade has a lot of eyes on him off the court as well. It’s been four years since he left Jordan Brand for Li-Ning, and while the brand is thriving in China, it’s not often mentioned in sneaker discussions here in the States. Wade is also in the final chapter of his storied career, so building the Way of Wade brand is an obvious priority while he’s still wearing them on-court.
"We’re not as big out here. We don’t have the following of Nike, Under Armour, and all those people, but we have our own lane. I’m excited about what we can do here,” said Wade. He seems determined to build the brand in a way that is authentic to him. “I think for us it’s a constant growth of first of all doing things like this, giving out your shoes to certain communities, certain kids so they can get used to the product, and then find certain right retailers,” said Wade.
Chicago being the birthplace of the signature basketball sneaker as we know it presents Wade and Li-Ning with a scenario that is equal parts pressure and opportunity. Aside from being a three-time NBA champion and future Hall of Famer, Wade has another advantage when it comes to Li-Ning’s potential stateside. Wade is widely regarded as one of the most stylish players in the league, and while fashion might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think about Li-Ning, he’s already thinking of ways to merge the two. “I’m into the design stage of my career where I’m getting with certain brands and designing. I take moments where I use the [arena] walk-in as a runway in a sense. I’m always trying to push the envelope. I’m always trying to figure out what’s on trend.” Wade says we can expect to see his off-court style influence future Way of Wade designs, but starting to see kids playing in his sneakers is already a big step forward. It was just a few years ago where his own teammates would crack jokes about his signature sneakers. “If someone comes in with something that everybody doesn’t approve of, they’re going to let it be known for sure. When I first signed with Li-Ning, they got me in the locker room, they were saying jokes about it, and they were waiting for me to pull them out and see how they looked,” said Wade with a laugh.
After the final layup was made, the group formed a circle in the middle and welcomed Wade onto the court. After giving out prizes such as tickets to the Bulls’ season opener, Wade opened up the mic for questions from the audience. “Why didn’t you go to Cleveland?” asked one giddy participant. “Cleveland didn’t have any money,” said Wade with a smile on his face. Just about anytime a superstar joins a new team, title expectations follow them there, but after a 20 minute Q&A, and another 30 minutes taking individual photos with each camp participant, nobody, including Wade, mentioned anything about the Bulls contending. There will be plenty of time for basketball talk, but Dwyane Wade grew up in Chicago and I get the sense that he knows what those kids need more than a championship is a champion. Luckily for them, he’s found his way home.
