The street where Dwyane Wade grew up has officially been named after the former NBA player.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the Village of Robbins, Illinois, permanently and legally renamed South Claire Boulevard to Dwyane Wade Boulevard on Sunday (July 26) at a ceremony and community celebration that also marked its inaugural Dwyane Wade Day.
Wade documented the experience on Instagram, posting a Story where he posed alongside his father, Dwyane Wade Sr.: "Where it all [started]! 14051 S. Claire Blvd now known as 14051 Dwyane Wade Blvd!” the former Miami Heat star wrote.
Wade also spoke about what the moment meant to him to ceremony attendees. "How do you put into words what it feels like to be honored on a street that helped raise you? I've been blessed with a life I never could've imagined,” said the 44-year-old. “But standing here yesterday, seeing familiar faces, being on this street I've run up and down so many times, it feels different than anywhere else I've been in this world.”
Wade also acknowledged that the community that raised him saw him as “a kid whose family was looking for a chance.” “Don't wait for the world to see you; see yourself first and believe in you,” he continued.
Along with Wade’s father, the former athlete’s wife, actress Gabrielle Union and daughters Kaavia James Union Wade and Zaya Wade were on stage during the ceremony.
By Monday (July 27), Wade would post a picture of himself and his father holding up his street sign on Instagram. “Yesterday was bigger than me! It wasn’t about a name on a boulevard—it was about every dream that started on that street, and every dream that’s still walking it,” he captioned the post.
Earlier in the day, Wade hosted a free youth basketball camp for local children, in addition to a shoe giveaway. Following a community chat, the renaming ceremony was held along with a block party at 139th Street.
The renamed stretch runs northeast-southwest through Robbins, from Francisco Avenue and Broadway Street to Pulaski Road near 144th Street.
Wade's father and stepmother moved the family to Robbins when Wade was young. He went on to attend Richards High School in Oak Lawn, where he won two conference titles, later leading Marquette University to the Final Four before being drafted fifth overall by the Miami Heat in 2003.
