It was the last regular season game, playoff fate on the line, and nothing stopped Stephen Curry & Co. from pulling another overtime thriller. James Harden would drop 3 consecutive threes, Curry, a 36-point performance, and Leonard added 33 to decide the Warriors were entering a play-in tournament– where they hadn’t won a single game. It was chaotic, nerve-wrecking, and maybe what you wouldn’t likely expect of a regular season finale. But Dwynae Wade seemingly wanted no part of it.

As thousands stood on their toes for the decider, Wade did too. But only here, he was trading the hardwood for the fairways.

Golf is having a major moment right now. 12.7 million people tuned in for the Masters Final Draw– the highest since 2018 and up 33% from last year. And Rory McIlroy stood at the heart of it. Just last week, on the 13th, he clinched his first Masters title in a dramatic playoff against Justin Rose, completing the elusive career Grand Slam. This victory places him among legends like Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus as only the sixth golfer to win all four major championships. And Wade is choosing Rory over the NBA. 

“I was not watching the Golden State [or] Lakers game last night, I was watching the Masters,” he admitted. Wade may have graced the hardwood for decades, but golf is currently piquing his interest, or has been or the last five years. He has consistently kept up with the masters, and this year was no different. But this isn’t just an occasional fan moment where he watches, forgets, and returns next year. The Miami Heat icon has been invested. 

On his podcast, the crew dove into the “correlation” between basketball and golf, with Wade giving credit to his basketball background for making his “short game so solid.”

It’s no surprise—Wade was known for his smooth floater, a move he mastered with finesse during his 16-season career. His floater, quick and controlled, often made the difference in clutch moments, notable in Wade finishing his career with over 23,000 points. That same finesse and sharpness now shine through on the golf course. He’s traded in the paint for the green, but the craft remains.

“I’m still learning,” he shared. With his coach speaking to him in “basketball terms,” Wade’s understanding of balance—something he mastered for years on the hardwood—has become key in his swing. “You gotta feel the ground before you take off,” he explained, comparing it to how a good basketball shot “comes from your feet up.” In golf, it’s the same: “It’s how strong you feel in your base before you even get to the rest of the stuff that’s hard.“

Wade’s putting it to practice too. Just a month before the Masters, he took down a trip to Augusta, the site where the tournament was to take place. Charles Barkley, Peyton Manning, and Grant Hill joined him on the adventure, which in Chuck’s words, “was two of the best days of my life…” A little golf, a little exploration around the technology used, some chaos, thanks to rain, and Wade had stories for life.

As he continues to sharpen his skills on the green, he’s also weighing in on the growing crossover between basketball and golf.

Dwyane Wade’s golf journey: Sparked by Tiger, fueled by passion

Back in 2012, Dwyane Wade made a golf analogy that got people talking. In an interview with The Golf Digest, he compared LeBron James’ career journey to a round of golf: “Michael [Jordan]’s on the 18th hole; LeBron is somewhere on like the fourth. He’s got a long way to go, but he’s on par to get to the 18th hole.” It was a clever metaphor for a player still building his legacy, and since then, Wade’s golf talk has only gotten sharper—and bolder.

Fast forward to 2025, and Wade isn’t just using golf as a metaphor—he’s living it. Inspired by Tiger Woods (whom he credits as the reason he even picked up a club), Wade has publicly embraced the sport. But he raised eyebrows when he made a pointed comment about Stephen Curry’s presence in pro golf as “disrespectful” to Woods and others. Talking about Curry, he said, “Steph Curry in LA Fitness, is incredible. Steph Curry in the NBA, next level… but he could not be a pro [golfer].” Wade’s message was clear: dominating a casual setting doesn’t mean you’re ready for the big leagues. In his eyes, golf legends like Woods and Cameron Smith earned their status through years of grind—something no short cut can replicate.

Still, despite his hot takes, Wade’s heart is in the right place when it comes to growing the game. Alongside his former teammate Dorell Wright, he co-founded ‘ACE Members Only,’ a program designed to open up golf to youth from underrepresented communities.

Basketball shaped him, but golf is where he’s building his next chapter.