To this point in the 2024 Paris Olympics, Dwyane Wade’s work as a men’s basketball analyst for NBC has been somewhat polarizing.
While some have enjoyed the former Miami Heat star’s rawness and enthusiasm, others have criticized him for his… well… rawness and enthusiasm.
One such critique caught Wade’s attention on Wednesday following his call of the United States men’s basketball team’s 103-86 victory over South Sudan in group play. Only rather than fire back at a social media user who proclaimed, “Man @DwyaneWade is corny as hell,” the Hall of Fame shooting guard leaned into the criticism.
“Sometimes Iam my guy,” Wade replied in a quote-tweet. “Appreciate you listening anyways.”
Sometimes Iam my guy. Appreciate you listening anyways https://t.co/OFrRi1feZC
— DWade (@DwyaneWade) July 31, 2024
While it might be surprising that the 13-time All-Star reads his mentions, his reaction was right in line with how he’s been approaching his assignment for NBC in Paris. After calling Team USA’s group stage-opening victory over Serbia on Sunday, Wade admitted that he was having a tough time not referring to the United States as “we” and conceded he had gone to his “he/him” pronouns joke a few times too many (at least).
The three-time NBA champion even went as far as to repost a tweet that compared his work as an analyst to a clip of Cheryl Miller coaching the WNBA All-Star Game, in which she told her team, “I’m having fun. Don’t know what I’m doing, but I’m having fun.”
“Yooo,” Wade wrote, along with a series of crying laughing emojis. “The accuracy.”
Yooo 🤣 The accuracy 🤣 https://t.co/VrdnWiOfpj
— DWade (@DwyaneWade) July 28, 2024
Yet despite some of the criticisms, Wade’s work has largely been applauded, especially with regard to his chemistry with play-by-play man Noah Eagle. As NBC prepares to bring the NBA back to its airwaves in the 2025-26 season, it’s tough not to view the 42-year-old’s work in Paris as an audition, and thus far, he appears to be performing well — even if he’s admittedly corny as hell at times.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.