"What's going on in this frat house?" - Dwyane Wade shares how Gabrielle Union kicked some of his friends out of their house
Making it to the NBA is an awesome experience. Not only do guys get to play basketball as their job, but they also get to enjoy a life of luxury and fame with all of their family and friends who helped them get to that spot.
However, making it to the league comes with some changes, and that was something Dwyane Wade found out the hard way as time went on. In fact, it led to his wife, Gabrielle Union, kicking some of his friends who were living with them out of their home.
Gabrielle opened Dwyane's eyes
Wade was thrilled to make it to the league and fulfill the dream he and many of his friends had when they were younger. With Dwyane making it to the league, his friends won, too, because they could reap the benefits of his new lifestyle.
While there's no problem with getting help from your suddenly super wealthy and super famous friend, there comes a point when it becomes too much. And with Union's help, D-Wade realized he needed to cut off some of his childhood friends so that he could grow as a person and a player.
"Most time, people get rid of stuff like that is when they got a woman to come in and she like, 'Yo, he can't be sleeping on the couch,'" the Hall of Famer said on Club Shay Shay. "'Your homeboy can't have the key to our crib' because that's how it is. It took my wife to come in, she was an older woman, and be like, 'What's going on in this frat house y'all got going on? What's up in this dorm room?' And I kind of had to be like, 'Oh, you right. I'm with a grown woman now; I have to clear shop a little bit.'"
Avoiding the Ja Morant scenario
This may seem like an interesting concept because turning your back on friends who you grew up with may seem a bit rude or selfish. But sometimes, these friends ask for money, are bad influences, or, in Wade's case, live at his house with him.
Again, in many cases, these things aren't an issue, but when they get out of hand, you have to find a way to end them. Union helped Wade realize that, and he gradually moved on from some of the friends he outgrew once he made it to the NBA.
This is a unique part of the transition to becoming a pro athlete, and it's not talked about enough. An example of how this can go downhill is Ja Morant, the bad influences around him led to him flashing firearms on social media, which resulted in a 25-game suspension.
You obviously don't have to cut off every single friend you had growing up once you make it to the NBA, but sometimes, you outgrow the folks you came up with. Without Union, Wade may have inadvertently fallen into a similar trap as Morant did.
