Dwyane Wade wanted Zaya to become a basketball star alongside LeBron’s son before transition: ‘See what happens when you start making plans for other people?’

When Dwyane Wade’s eldest child was born, he had big plans. After all, Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James both had sons the same age.

Dreams about the NBA superstars’ three children growing up together and playing basketball side by side danced through his mind.

“I have Zaya. LeBron has Bryce. Melo has Kiyan. All within the space of two to three weeks,” Wade told Shannon Sharpe on the channel Club Shay Shay podcast. “All of our kids will grow up playing hoops together. “Oh, we’re going to keep going! Boy, we’re having three babies! We’re going to keep going!”

“You couldn’t tell me we wouldn’t be at the track right now, baby! We hoop,” he added.

And when Zaya was 12, she came out as transgender and Wade, 41, said, “See what happens when you start making plans for other people’s lives?”

Zaya, 16, is the younger of the retired NBA player’s two children from his first marriage to his high school sweetheart Siohmaughn Funches. He also shares son Zaire, 21, with her.

Wade also has son Xavier, nine, with Aja Metoyer and daughter Kaavia, four, with wife Gabrielle Union, 50.

And he’s a proud father who realizes that Zaya’s life is her journey.

‘Then I was allowed to meet my child. And a lot of people like to talk about Zaya’s transition, but to me, Zaya hasn’t transitioned anywhere,” he said.

“She’s just a kid and now she’s becoming a young adult,” he continued. ‘I have seen her go through life. There has been no transition for us.

“There has been a transition for the world, but for us I see the same child that I have seen since May 29, 2007. Nothing has changed,” he said.

And the feeling is mutual when Zaya looks up at her father and talks Harper’s Bazaar last month: ‘My father is the one who really inspires me the most.

‘Children always tend to look up to their parents, but not only did I revere him growing up and see him as a real person, I also realize that he played such a vital role in supporting me and the ways in which I want to present myself. the world.’

“He has been very supportive and is my biggest advocate. He took his time, learned and grew. I want to have the same mentality through everything in life,” she added.

And being the daughter of a famous father and stepmother has given Zaya a platform to stand up for transgender people.

‘Coming out is such a big change. It’s difficult to navigate. “We all really learned more about each other and how we can coexist and grow together in this crazy world, especially in the public eye,” she said.

‘It’s like there’s always a spotlight on you. But at the end of the day, we are a family and we support and love and are grateful for each other,” she concluded.