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NBA legend Dwyane Wade and Chicago Bulls star DeMar DeRozan welcomed Caleb Williams after he was picked No. 1 overall by the Chicago Bears in the 2024 NFL Draft. The team shared a welcome video on Instagram, which featured Wade and DeRozan extending their welcome message for Williams.
"This is Dwyane Wade, Chicago's own. Chicago Bears fan through and through. I just want to say congratulations to you guys. Welcome. Welcome to the team. Welcome to the family. Welcome to the franchise," Wade said.
"We want more of that. We want more hardware. And so a lot of work needs to be done and it's going to start with you guys," Wade said pointing towardihis NBA hardware.
"Man, I can't wait, I'm excited about the future, and I'm also excited about now. Let's get it. Let's go!"
DeRozan extended his welcome message for the 22-year-old quarterback on behalf of the city and the Chicago Bulls:
"On behalf of Chicago and the Bulls, we want to welcome you Caleb. To the family, to the city. You're going to do big things. Fight on."
Caleb Williams is widely regarded as one of the most talented players to enter the draft in years. He was one of a record six quarterbacks taken in the first 12 picks in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Exploring Dwyane Wade's connection to Chicago
Though Dwyane Wade created his NBA legacy in Miami with the Miami Heat, he has deep roots in the city of Chicago. Wade was born and brought up in the south side of Chicago, and played basketball and football at Harold L. Richards High School.
Moreover, the three-time NBA champion played with the Chicago Bulls for one season in 2016 after he had cemented his NBA legacy with the Miami Heat. Wade also invested in the city's WNBA team, the Chicago Sky, and joined their ownership group in 2023.
During a press conference before he was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame last year, Wade shared fond memories of Chicago. He spoke about his high school honoring him with his jersey retirement and Chicago's role in shaping him as a basketball player and as a person.
“To have my jersey retired at Richards [is] amazing, because it wasn’t a basketball school, but we made it a basketball school,” Wade said. “A lot of who I am and how I approach things is how I was raised and what I’ve seen.
"Chicago has a big part of that, and Richards High is a big part of that. They gave me the jersey, they gave me the opportunity. The coach coached me; he didn’t just let me show up. He stayed on me because he saw a side of me that I didn’t even know I had.”
Though the Heat legend did not build his NBA legacy with the Chicago Bulls, Dwyane Wade has a deep connection with the city and is a legend in Chicago.
