Dwyane Wade, Sr. and Danielle Koping-Wade have been together for 14 years and married for seven. And though smitten from the start, he admits that he missed a couple of shots before he dribbled his way into her heart.
Founder of the Pro Pops Foundation, he was hosting an event when they were introduced by Dexter A. Bridgeman, the publisher of MIA Magazine. Dwyane later invited her to a Heat Game and that’s when things began to go south. “He walked me to my car and opened my car like a perfect gentleman,” says Danielle, a real estate investor and entrepreneur. “But then I got home and I didn’t get a text or a call. I had a 30 minute drive, so I was like, ‘Oh no, no, no.’ I don’t ever accept that.” So she blocked him.
Dwyane remembers it like it was yesterday.
“She said that I never called her so she threw my number in the trash!” Then one day, he stumbled onto one of her dry cleaning businesses and asked her out again.
“We had lunch together,” said Dwyane “But that didn’t go great either.” During their meal, he revealed that since he had given so much in previous relationships, he wanted to focus on himself. Danielle wondered if he was interested in her at all. “It was just shocking to me,” she said. “It was like me me me. That was all that I was hearing.”
Their matchmaker got an earful.as well. But soon thereafter she noticed that things began to change.
“I think Dexter got to him,” she laughed..
Dwyane asked her to push the reset button and this time she picked the restaurant.
He then offered to cook her a meal at his home but she was on guard till she arrived.
“She thought it was a breakfast booty call!”, he said laughing. He innocently served pancakes and even his daughter (who promptly put Danielle in the hot seat) was there.
Since then their love has only grown. She offers unwavering support during life’s struggles.
He caters to her needs. They even married in Vienna fulfilling her lifelong dream.
There’s no doubt that he is her Prince Charming.
It’s clear that this is a slam dunk and Dwyane has fine tuned his game.
