Dwyane Wade explains why his first-ever trip to Old Navy blew his mind
After 16 seasons in the NBA, Dwyane Wade is officially an ex-NBA player. He retired at the end of the 2018-2019 season, and has moved from Miami to Los Angeles. But the adjustment from life in Miami as a famous NBA player to retired life in LA hasn’t been without issues.
Wade’s wife, actress Gabrielle Union, went on “The Late Late Show with James Corden” in May and described educating her husband about things like the cost of milk and car washes.
But the best part was Union describing their first trip to Old Navy, a store Wade had never been to. He was astounded.
“He has no idea what’s happening. When he got into the NBA, he didn’t have any money, he was pretty close to poverty. Then he’s retired, and now he does okay for himself. But he’s like, ‘What is this place? There’s got all kinds of khaki shorts, and cargo shorts, and there’s all different colors.’ And I’m like, ‘That’s Old Navy.’”
It’s more than a little weird that Wade wasn’t familiar with the concept of Old Navy. But in an interview with Sports Illustrated’s Rohan Nadkarni, Wade finally explained his awed reaction to setting foot inside an Old Navy store.
“OK so, what I was freaking out about — if you want to call it freaking out — was the prices ... I don’t really go shopping, so I don’t really know the prices of stuff.
“So I go into Old Navy and I start buying stuff. So I grabbed what I felt was like, [laughs], a lot of stuff, like it’s got to be $100,000. Not a $100,000 but just speaking in that sense. I got up to the register and it was like $500. I was like, ‘Holy s**t, I thought this was way more.’”
The transition from ultra-fame to anonymity can be rough, but it’s something Wade was obviously looking forward to. And even more than just the experiences of shopping and other “normal” activities, he was looking forward to doing things without having the anxiety of being recognized. In Los Angeles, he doesn’t have to be Dwayne Wade the Famous Basketball Player, he can just go to the grocery store and be himself.
And think of the fun he’ll have while discovering other things he wasn’t able to experience for fear of being recognized! He might faint dead away if he ever walks into a Five Below.
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