After cementing his legacy as one of the NBA icons, Dwyane Wade is learning the ropes of how to be a father. It’s not an easy feat, especially if the daughter is Kaavia. It’s not just the 3x NBA champion who is having problems; even his wife, Gabrielle Union, is learning every day to understand their daughter. Apart from being an influencer on Instagram and studying in school, there is one more hobby that she has picked up–basketball. And her inspiration–Angel Reese.

Raising the youngest kid in the family comes with its challenges, and D-Wade already laid down the marker, as he took up the role of a coach in her youngest daughter’s life. “I’m her basketball coach right now, right? I’m the one who’s training her. And I told her mom, I said, her and our relationship is going to be a little different”. This reflection from The Flash was during a conversation on IMO with Michelle Obama & Craig Robinson. But learning to be an athlete requires sacrifice, even more so when one has to follow Reese.

“Because the things I’m going to have, the things she’s going to do to want to be a great athlete, when she say, ‘Oh, I want to be better than Angel Reese.’ Okay. I hear you. And so the things you’re going to want, that you’re gonna have to do … And so yeah, my tone gonna be a little different to your mom’s, you know, I’m gonna look at our conversation, it’s gonna be different.’” This different conversation in the household is the reason Kaavia has different reactions to her parents.

Even Gabrielle Union expressed it before during the podcast, “And I don’t even remember what I said to her that caused her to be staring me down all day Sunday.” As per the Heat legend, his daughter is yet to embrace basketball as her main goal, but understands the difference between Wade as a father and Wade as a coach.

“And so I believe from my understanding, she respects it, you know, she respect the way that I communicate, but she don’t like it. But I can see her right away when we get done with that moment, she comes, we hug, we don’t miss a beat, she’s not staring me down, we on the couch. So, it’s a different dynamic that we have. Not saying her mom needs to have that dynamic. It’s just… this is just, this is how this is gonna go. I’m coach,” he explained.

So, Wade doesn’t get the staring treatment, even if he puts Kaavia through a rigorous workout. Which is a good sign, after all, he purchased the WNBA team for her daughter.

Angel Reese is the role model for Dwyane Wade’s daughter

Wade wanted his daughters to have role models, just like his son had in the NBA. So, for D-Wade WNBA became the right option and the Chicago Sky the perfect team. “The big part of that is that my son, Zaire, grew up and he had a dream of being in the NBA. He had a dream of being like his favorite players. You understand the importance of role models and so, I want my daughter to have that same feeling,” Wade had said after buying a stake in the team. This was in 2023, and soon the team acquired Angel Reese in last year’s draft, and it was an instant connection for Kaavia.

When the Wade household met Reese, it was more than a business meeting. Dwyane Wade shared the moment on his Instagram Story, writing: “Seeing is believing. Thank you, [Angel Reese] for being a model for all our daughters.” His wife, Union, was also quick to add how Kaavia became a huge fan of the Sky forward. “Once Kaav heard [Angel Reese] went by Barbie, Stan for life.”

This was a reference to Reese, who is also known as ‘Bayou Barbie’ at LSU and ‘Chi-Town Barbie’ at Sky. Angel Reese was also quick to send her love back to the family. She reposted the video on her Instagram Story as well and captioned it, “LOVE HER”. Since then, the relationship has always grown. From more meetings at the courtside games to appearing on podcasts. The entire Wade family has taken a liking to Reese, which shows in Kaavia’s approach to practicing basketball.