It didn’t take long for Dwyane Wade to establish himself as the lead basketball analyst for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Wade, who previously worked as an analyst for Turner Sports’ NBA coverage, has put on the headset again to call the tournament’s biggest games alongside commentator Noah Eagle. As the two continue to develop their chemistry, their broadcasts have been filled with meme and pop culture references, as well as numerous references to Wade’s career as a Hall of Fame player.
As much fun as the two had at the conference, it seems like Wade is the one having the most fun. And, like all analysts, Wade seems to have opted for a signature conference, choosing to say a player’s pronouns are “he, him” when they start to thrive on the court.
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Here’s more on Wade’s new signature call and why you might want to get used to the Hall of Famer using it.
Dwyane Wade’s ‘he, he’ call explained
During Canada’s victory over Greece on the opening day of basketball at the Olympics, Wade used his signature yell several times on superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
“That is the consolation for [Canada]”You know you got who I say was the MVP of the league last year, you got somebody that’s very special, and like I said, his pronouns are he, him,” Wade said. saying as the broadcast aired a highlight of Gilgeous-Alexander hitting an isolation 3-pointer.
A day later, Wade used his new signature technique to refer to each member of Team USA’s veteran duo of Kevin Durant and LeBron James as the veterans combined to shoot 13-of-13 from the field in the first half of the game.
After the game, Wade took to X (formerly Twitter) to make the call more clear, quoting a post from James and saying “Y’all know the pronouns: HE/HIM” along with a crown and a laughing emoji.
Everyone knows the pronouns: HE/HIM ? ? https://t.co/WNbD9GWMLA
— DWade (@DwyaneWade) July 28, 2024
Wade’s call is a play on words and is derived from athletes: and other FIBA announcers — who say “I’m him” after a big play is made. Texans WR Stefon Diggs and the Lakers guard Austin Reaves These are two notable examples.
The other half of Wade’s callout stems from online platforms where users can list their preferred pronouns together. For those who choose “he/him/his” pronouns, the words he and him are next to each other, hence Wade’s use of a slash in his X post.
So instead of the player saying “I am he,” Wade says “he (is) he,” taking reference from the order in which “he/him” appears on social media platforms.
With Wade the voice of the most important games at the Paris Games, a new interpretation has to be accustomed to. Two days later, there have been several stars worthy of the “he/him” label.
