?It Wasn?t What I Retired For?: Miami Legend Dwyane Wade on Working With Shaquille O?Neal and Charles Barkley Even After NBA Retirement

The ‘Inside the NBA’ show had Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith, Charles Barley, and Ernie Johnson Jr at its helm. However, that wasn’t always the case. The show has had different lineups of a star-studded cast. One of them was none other than the Miami Heat legend, Dwyane Wade. He had graced the show for three of its seasons, working alongside Shaq and Chuck.

Dwyane Wade packed up his sneakers from the NBA in 2019, after a long stint of 16 years in the league. In his post-retirement phase, he dipped his toes into other business ventures and appearances. Media reported that this could have been the reason behind the show and the player’s amicable split.

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While speaking to Sports Illustrated, Wade put our doubts to rest. He said that his family was the primary reason for stepping away from the show. He said his long professional career built the foundation to change his family’s fortune. Wade also said he wanted them to be proud of it.

“And so to go through that until I was 37 and then to come out of that, go through the pandemic and then have the job where I?m flying back and forth to Atlanta for four months out the year, it wasn?t what I retired for”, Dwyane Wade honestly added.

The NBA legend said that he wanted to focus on family time, and take a “sabbatical year”. He admitted that the year did him good because it allowed him to re-evaluate things and chart out his next course.

Is Dwyane Wade a fan of the show?

Dwyane Wade, however, still watches the show. In fact, the Heat star also waits for his “Tuesday crew with Jamal Crawford“. Crawford was the frontrunner for Wade’s replacement, a position he secured.

At the time, he worked on Tuesday nights for the network with Shaquille O’Neal, Candace Parker, and Adam Lefkoe. There were rumors at the time, that spoke about the possibility of Charles Barkley leaving the show. But in the end, it was Dwyane Wade who walked away.

A decision he doesn’t seem to regret.

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