Three-time NBA champion Dwyane Wade walked through Sky practice Tuesday at Sachs Recreation Center in Deerfield as if he owned the place — not arrogantly, but with the visible comfort of someone who felt right at home.
Soon, Wade could find a home in the WNBA. According to two sources, Wade, a 13-time All-Star, has expressed interest in investing in the Sky.
“It was a great day,” Wade told the Sun-Times on his way out of the building.
He spent the afternoon in close conversation with Sky principal owner Michael Alter and Ann Crosby, the team’s vice president of basketball operations. Wearing a Sky sweatshirt, he sat courtside for practice before taking a photo with the team.
He started the day with a message for players in which he noted his interest in continuing to help the league grow.
“We need people like him,” guard Dana Evans said. “We need more NBA players to help expand the WNBA, and he talked a lot about that. It was pretty encouraging.”
Added guard Marina Mabrey: “He told us, ‘We see you, and we see your hard work.’ ”
Asked about Wade’s investment interest, Alter said he had no comment. Wade’s cousin, Sky coach and general manager James Wade, also confirmed nothing but was frank about what it could mean for the team if Dwayne Wade threw funding support behind it.
“It would mean a lot, of course,” James Wade said, “especially when you’re talking about the type of person that he is and how he does stuff for people. He’s recognized and has a reputation of supporting not only this league but supporting everyone. So it would be special if something like that were to happen.”
News of Dwyane Wade’s possible investment follows last week’s announcement that Sky ownership had sold a 10% share of the team for $8.5 million to an all-female group of new investors that includes Cubs co-owner Laura Ricketts.
The Sky are one of seven independently owned WNBA teams. The other five share owners with their NBA counterpart teams.
Alter’s efforts to bring a WNBA team to Chicago were a direct result of Bulls ownership having no interest when the league was founded in 1996. Established before the 2006 season, the Sky struggled for many years in a saturated sports market and had a reputation for being bottom tier when it came to player experience and amenities.
But in the last five years, Alter and the rest of the ownership group have taken substantial steps forward. In 2018, they moved the team from Allstate Arena in Rosemont to Wintrust Arena in the South Loop. They also have added state-of-the-art training equipment and daily post-practice meals and are in the process of developing their own practice facility near Wintrust Arena.
“I hope [new investment] is a positive signal for women’s sports,” co-owner and operating chairman Nadia Rawlinson told the Sun-Times last week. “I hope it’s a positive signal for the city and what it means that people are invested. If you look at our new ownership group, almost everyone is Chicago-based.”
Wade already has extensive experience in the sports ownership world, with stakes in the NBA’s Jazz and Major League Soccer’s Real Salt Lake. Born in Chicago and an alum of Richards High School, he hasn’t lived in the city since the 2016-17 NBA season, which he spent with the Bulls, but continues to consider it home.
Chicago’s culture and its central U.S. location already are considered draws for potential Sky free agents — especially since the WNBA doesn’t provide charter travel. But increased investment could lead to more separation from the other teams. Adding Wade to the ownership group would bring not just added capital but also a degree of added credibility.
“Once you see D-Wade on with the Sky, it just brings more,” Evans said. “It’ll bring more people out, more fans. We just want to have our name out there.”
