Dwyane Wade returned to his hometown of Chicago this offseason when he signed with the Bulls, and he revealed Friday his motivation for doing so stretched far beyond basketball.
Gun violence has plagued the Windy City in recent years, and Wade was recently impacted by it, as his cousin, Nykea Aldridge, was shot and killed on the South Side of Chicago on Aug. 26. According to CNN.com's Ralph Ellis and Vivian Kuo, police said Aldridge was not the intended target of the shooting.
As pointed out by Wade, the shooting occurred just one day after he took part in a town hall meeting on the subject of gun violence:
Wade is among the most popular, successful and influential players in the NBA as a 12-time All-Star and three-time champion, and he hopes to use that to facilitate positive change in Chicago: "Now I'm back in the city of Chicago—I'm back for a reason. I played 13 years in Miami. Now I'm back in the city, let me see what I can do as one person to help lend my voice and help shed light on the tragedy that's going on and find a solution to start the process of making change."
There is little doubt the 34-year-old veteran will help the Bulls on the court as they look to return to the playoffs in the Eastern Conference this season.
It long seemed as though Wade was a virtual lock to spend his entire career with the Heat, but a greater calling drew him back home, and it is clear that joining the Bulls was about far more than winning games.
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