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James Wade (basketball)

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James Wade
Wade coaching in 2019
Toronto Raptors
PositionAssistant coach
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1975-08-15) August 15, 1975 (age 49)
Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
NationalityAmerican / French
Listed height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Career information
High schoolNorthside (Memphis, Tennessee)
College
NBA draft1998: undrafted
PositionGuard
Coaching career2013–present
Career history
As player:
2001–2004Cambrai
2004–2005CSK VVS Samara
2005Rosalia de Castro Noyastar
2005–2006CSK VVS-2 Samara
2006Alicante Costablanca
2007–2008Ústí nad Labem
2008Nivelles
2008–2009Union Carquefou-St. Luce
2009–2010Aurore de Vitré
2010–2011GET Vosges
2011–2013Castelnau Le Lez Montpellier
As coach:
2012–2016San Antonio Stars (assistant)
2013–2016BLMA (assistant)
2017–2018Minnesota Lynx (assistant)
2017–2020UMMC Ekaterinburg (assistant)
2019–2023Chicago Sky
2023–presentToronto Raptors (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
As head coach:

As assistant coach:

  • WNBA champion (2017)
  • 2× FIBA Euroleague champion (2018, 2019)

As executive:

James Wade (born August 15, 1975), known as Coco, is an American-French basketball assistant coach for the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

With the Chicago Sky, Wade won the WNBA's Coach of the Year and Executive of the Year awards in 2019 and 2022 respectively, and led the Sky to their first WNBA Championship in 2021.[1]

Wade was previously an assistant basketball coach for the Minnesota Lynx[2] of the WNBA and for UMMC Ekaterinburg[3] of the Euroleague and Russian Premier Basketball League. He is a former professional basketball player, having played his entire professional career in Europe.

Playing career

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From 2001 to 2004 Wade played in Cambrai, France. In 2004, he made a brief stop at CSK VVS Samara in the Russian Basketball Super League before taking his next contract at Rosalia Noyastar in Santiago de Compostela in the Spanish Adecco Oro. Directly after his contract in Spain, he revisited Russia. He would sign a contract with CSKA VVS Samara in Superleague B. In March 2006 Wade finished the season with Costa Urbana Playas in Spain. In the fall of 2007, Wade went on to play with Usti Nad Labem in the National Basketball League (Czech Republic). In the spring of 2008, he went on to play at Nivelles in the Pro B division of Belgium. For the 2008–2009 season, Wade took his game back to France and signed with Union Carquefou-Sainte Luce Basket. For the 2009–2010 season, he played for L'Aurore Vitre in France NM2. Wade played for GET Vosges in Epinal, France in France's NM1 division for the 2010–2011 season. He played the 2011–2013 for Castelnau Le Lez Basket in Montpellier, France. He concluded his basketball career playing against U.S. Colomiers in Toulouse, France in the French Cup scoring 33 points, 10 assists, and 6 rebounds in an 89–95 victory to conclude a 13-year career in Europe.

Coaching career

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Wade with the San Antonio Stars

In the spring of 2012, Wade accepted a job as a basketball coaching intern with the WNBA's San Antonio Silver Stars. He served mainly as a player development coach, working closely with All-Stars Sophia Young and Danielle Adams. In 2013, he was hired on the full-time staff to serve as an assistant coach.

In April 2013, Wade served as an advance scout for UMMC Ekaterinburg during the Euroleague Final Eight that would see them go on to be crowned Champion of Europe. After the 2013 WNBA season, he took on a role to serve as an assistant coach for BLMA (Basket Lattes Montpellier Agglomeration).

On March 2, 2017, Wade was announced as the new assistant coach for the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx. One month later he would also be named assistant coach of Russian basketball powerhouse UMMC Ekaterinburg. On October 4, 2017, the Minnesota Lynx won a grueling 5-game series and were crowned WNBA champions for the 4th time in 7 years. This was Wade's first WNBA title. Sylvia Fowles was crowned MVP of the Finals following her regular-season WNBA MVP award. Wade had worked closely with Fowles during the 2017 season. On April 22, 2018, UMMC were crowned Euroleague Champions, and that title was followed quickly by a Russian League Championship on May 2, 2018. That made 3 titles in less than 7 months for Wade.

In November 2018, Wade was named head coach and general manager of the Chicago Sky of the WNBA.[4][5] In his first season with the Sky, he led the team to its first playoff appearance in three years and was named WNBA Coach of the Year. The Sky lost in the second round of the playoffs to the Las Vegas Aces. In the 2020 season, the Sky posted a 12–10 record and returned to the playoffs but lost in the first round.

In the 2021 season, the Sky would win the WNBA Finals, defeating the Phoenix Mercury three games to one, giving Wade his first title as a coach.[6] In the 2022 season, the Sky finished the regular season in second place with a 26–10, but lost in the semifinals to the Connecticut Sun. In the midst of the season, Wade received a contract extension through 2025.[7]

On July 1, 2023, Wade stepped down of his positions as head coach and general manager of the Chicago Sky to take an assistant coach position with the Toronto Raptors.[8] At the time, the Sky held a 7–9 record. Wade's departure in the middle of the season after initiating major roster changes the prior offseason received criticism.[9][10][11][12]

Head coaching record

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WNBA

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Legend
Regular season G Games coached W Games won L Games lost W–L % Win–loss %
Playoffs PG Playoff games PW Playoff wins PL Playoff losses PW–L % Playoff win–loss %
Team Year G W L W–L% Finish PG PW PL PW–L% Result
CHI 2019 34 20 14 .588 3rd in East 2 1 1 .500 Lost in 2nd Round
CHI 2020 22 12 10 .545 1st in East 1 0 1 .000 Lost in 1st Round
CHI 2021 32 16 16 .500 2nd in East 10 8 2 .800 Won WNBA Finals
CHI 2022 36 26 10 .722 1st in East 8 4 4 .500 Lost in Semifinals
CHI 2023 16 7 9 .438 (resigned) — — — —
Career 140 81 59 .579 21 13 8 .619

Personal life

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Wade has both French and American citizenship, and is also trilingual (English, French, and Spanish). He is married to Edwige Lawson-Wade, an Olympic silver medalist and professional basketball player. They have a son, James "Jet" Wade III.

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References

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  1. ^ "Chicago's James Wade Named 2019 WNBA Coach Of The Year". wnba.com. WNBA. September 11, 2019. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  2. ^ "Home". Minnesota Lynx. Retrieved 2019-07-06.
  3. ^ "WMLBA – "Play to Win"". wmlba.com. Retrieved 2019-07-06.
  4. ^ "Sources: Sky To Announce Hiring Of James Wade As Head Coach And GM On Tuesday". WNBAinsidr. 2018-11-08. Retrieved 2019-06-02.
  5. ^ "James Wade Named General Manager and Head Coach of the Chicago Sky". WNBA.com - Official Site of the WNBA. Retrieved 2019-06-02.
  6. ^ Chicago rallies past Phoenix to win first WNBA crown - ESPN.com
  7. ^ Taylor, Ryan (2022-08-24). "Sky extend head coach James Wade through 2025". NBC Sports Chicago. Retrieved 2023-08-23.
  8. ^ "James Wade leaving Chicago Sky as head coach, accepts assistant coach position with Raptors - CBS Chicago". www.cbsnews.com. 2023-07-01. Retrieved 2023-07-05.
  9. ^ Costabile, Annie (2023-07-29). "As trade deadline approaches, Sky don't appear to be active despite clear need for changes". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2023-08-23.
  10. ^ Costabile, Annie (2023-08-22). "James Wade assembled Sky's roster poorly, and it's showing". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2023-08-23.
  11. ^ Hruby, Emma (July 7, 2023). "Kahleah Copper talks free agency future after James Wade exit". Just Women's Sports. Retrieved 2023-08-23.
  12. ^ Greenberg, Jon (July 2, 2023). "Bulls add Jevon Carter, Sky lose James Wade and what will White Sox do about Tim Anderson?". The Athletic. Retrieved 2023-08-23.
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