NBA great Dwyane Wade buys an ownership stake in the Utah Jazz

Published: April 16, 2021 at 2:11 p.m. ET

By

Weston Blasi

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Wade said that people in his community rarely “get this opportunity, and I do not take it lightly”

Former Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade.
Michael Reaves/Getty Images

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Thirteen-time NBA All-Star Dwyane Wade has purchased a minority ownership stake in the Utah Jazz, the team announced.

Randy Smith, the founder of Qualtrics, bought the Jazz for $1.66 billion in 2020.

“Unfortunately, people in my community don’t get this opportunity, and I do not take it lightly to have this opportunity,” Wade told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. “To make real change, this is where you have to be — at the top — and Ryan knows that. I’m thankful for him, and I know too that I bring a lot to this partnership outside of just my basketball knowledge and skills.”

Wade, 39, retired from playing after the 2018-2019 season. He earned over $196 million from salary alone during his 16-year career.

Wade, who played for the Miami Heat for most of his career and helped them win three NBA championships, was in talks to join the Heat’s ownership group before talks fell apart, according to Heat owner Micky Arison.

Arison, who is also the Chairman of Carnival Corp CCL, -1.21% & PLC, tweeted shortly after the news broke that Wade was “not prepared to commit” to joining the Heat ownership team.

Wade joins a list of former players such as Grant Hill (Atlanta Hawks), Shaquille O’Neal (Sacramento Kings) and Michael Jordan (Charlotte Hornets) who purchased ownership stakes in NBA teams. Jordan is the only former player who is a majority owner in the NBA.

UPDATE: CDC says just 5,800 people who were fully vaccinated against COVID got infected: CNN

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified about 5,800 cases of people who were fully vaccinated against the coronavirus-borne illness COVID-19 but got infected anyway, CNN reported. That's just a tiny sliver of the roughly 124 million people who have received a first dose. Some became seriously ill and 74 people died, the CDC told CNN by email. "To date, no unexpected patterns have been identified in case demographics or vaccine characteristics," the CDC said. It is not unexpected to have these "breakthrough" cases, as the vaccines are not 100% effective in preventing infections, making it important that people continue to wear face masks and socially distance, even after being vaccinated. The agency said it will be looking for clues about who is most prone to become infected despite having been vaccinated. "Vaccine breakthrough infections were reported among all people of all ages eligible for vaccination. However, a little over 40% of the infections were in people 60 or more years of age," the CDC said.