D-Wade joining Sky's ownership group

Three-time NBA champion Dwyane Wade is joining the Chicago Sky's ownership group, he told ESPN's Alexa Philippou.

The Miami Heat icon's investment is subject to approval from the WNBA's board of governors.

"We all talk about support, and support looks different for everyone," Wade said. "And so instead of tweeting out and saying, 'Go support the W,' instead of showing up at the game and supporting, I wanted to take it to that next level, and this was the next level for me.

"It's a great opportunity to be a part of the league in its very early stages. ... Growth is going to happen, and so I want to be a part of the growth of this league."

Wade attended a Sky practice in June and spoke with principal owner Michael Alter as well as vice president of basketball operations Ann Crosby. There, the 13-time NBA All-Star reportedly expressed interest in investing in his hometown WNBA club, sources told Annie Costabile of The Chicago Sun-Times. He's also the cousin of former Sky head coach and general manager James Wade.

This wouldn't be Wade's first investment in a professional sports franchise. The former Finals MVP purchased a minority ownership stake in the NBA's Utah Jazz in 2021 and joined MLS club Real Salt Lake's ownership group a year later.

"This is meaningful for the players, and this is meaningful for the city as a whole," said Sky co-owner and operating chairman Nadia Rawlinson. "Dwyane Wade is a son of Chicago. And the thing that differentiates us, I think, from other franchises is that we are Chicago. We are the future of Chicago. We are the culture of Chicago.

"We are in it and of it, and he is very much sort of a main character in that story. And we're just pleased and thrilled at what the future can bring with both of us working together."