Idol Dwyane Wade’s Slice of $2.03 Billion Pie Lured Italian Pistons Star to the NBA

There are a lot of reasons to like Dwyane Wade. A big part of it is the role he played in winning the Miami Heat its first championship in 2006. In his post-playing career, he’s had diverse entrepreneurial interests, including some that keep him connected to the NBA. For one young NBA pro, that connection meant a lot.

When The Athletic asked Simone Fontecchio who is his favorite player of all time, he answered, “I think just because I started watching during the 2006 finals, it’s Dwyane Wade.” Born in 1995, the Italian-born small forward would’ve been around 10 when The Flash, with Shaquille O’Neal, Udonis Haslem, and Gary Payton won the franchise’s first title.

The 28-year-old further added, “It was kind of cool that when I got to Utah that he had ownership in the Jazz.” Simone Fontecchio was traded to the Detroit Pistons this season. But after a decade in European teams, his first NBA team was the Utah Jazz in 2022. By then, a retired Dwyane Wade had been involved in the franchise’s operations side.

Since 2021, D-Wade has been a minority owner of the Jazz that came about his friendship with the owner, Ryan Smith. The value of his share is not known but it can’t be small if the franchise is valued at 2.03 billion. When he joined the Utah franchise, he celebrated on Instagram. “Proud and excited to become a part of the @utahjazz family with Ryan Smith and the rest of the amazing ownership team,” Wade wrote.

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It can’t hurt to have a mentor like Dwyane Wade. Fontecchio wasn’t shy about making his admiration known.

Dwyane Wade mentors and defends the Utah Jazz

The Flash was committed to hands-on mentorship with the Jazz. He probably even interacted with Fontecchio then. The newest member of the Detroit Pistons even confirmed that he conveyed to D-Wade that he’s his all-time favorite.

But when asked what was D-Wade’s reaction, it was pretty tame. “I don’t know. I think he gets that a lot. He was cool. We got shots up together. It was cool.” At least that earned him some one-on-one mentorship.

That also speaks of Wade’s commitment to the organization. So much that he told Chris Paul, “Don’t do that to us. Don’t do that on my podcast. Just move on and do the story,” when CP3 narrated he didn’t want to be drafted by Utah Jazz. Do you think Dwyane Wade’s former mentee is a good addition to the Pistons?

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