Dwyane Wade's Kids and Wife Gabrielle Union Honor Him on Father's Day with Heartfelt Tributes

Dwyane Wade is dad to sons Xavier, 6½, and Zaire, 18, plus daughters Kaavia, 19 months, and Zaya, 13, as well as guardian to nephew Dahveon, 18

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Published on June 21, 2020 08:00 PM

gabrielle union and dwyane wade family — Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade with Zaya and Kaavia. Photo: Gabrielle Union/instagram

Dwyane Wade is one loved daddy!

The retired NBA star, 38, was showered with affection by his kids and wife Gabrielle Union on Sunday in honor of Father's Day. Wade's eldest child, son Zaire shared a touching tribute to the patriarch on Instagram, along with a video of the father-son pair at his school basketball game.

"@dwyanewade I’ve always looked up to you for the way you support me and our family no matter what’s said. Your a true example of what a father figure is and I’m blessed to be your son 🖤 I love you man, you know what it is," the 18-year-old wrote.

In the comment section of Zaire's post, the former Miami Heat star said, "My dude‼️ It’s a forever thing with us. I love you kid."

Wade certainly has a brood to be proud of, as he is also dad to sons Xavier Zechariah, 6½, and daughters Kaavia James, 19 months, and Zaya, 13, as well as guardian to nephew Dahveon Morris, 18.

A loving tribute to Wade was posted on the toddler's Instagram page. "Happy Father's Day!!! @dwyanewade," the caption read.

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Also on Sunday, Union paid tribute to the men in her life, including husband Wade and her father. "My favorite fathers. The way you both show up time and time again for us. The way you both lead with your own mistakes. The way you both look for ways to be better men, husbands, allies, and most importantly, fathers. I love you both. My favorite dads in the world. @dwyanewade," the actress wrote.

In addition, she surprised him with a special gift. "Happy Fathers Day to Meeeeee!!!! I mentioned years ago that when I moved to LA I would love a Bronco‼️Well the wife was listening. Thank you @gabunion you did that!!!!" he raved.

Wade recently joined Union, 47, to mark Zaya's 13th birthday, celebrating her becoming an official teenager at a "modern medieval kingdom"-themed party.

The first image showed the trio standing in front of a house, with Zaya sporting a sparkly crown and long, lavender braids in her hair. She nailed the crossover theme with her outfit: a green gown with corset-style bodice, underneath which she wore a pair of black-and-yellow printed pants and black boots.

Union got into the spirit in a floral-print dress and matching understated crown, while Wade — rocking a bright-orange hairdo — donned a black kilt for the occasion.

"ᗯᕼᗴᑎ Tᕼᗴ Tᕼᗴᗰᗴ Iᔕ ᗰOᗪᖇᗴᑎ ᗰᗴᗪIᐯᗩᒪ KIᑎᘜᗪOᗰ #13," Zaya captioned her second post, writing alongside the first, "𝕊𝕥𝕣𝕠𝕟𝕘𝕖𝕣 𝕥𝕠𝕘𝕖𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣✊🏾 #happypride🌈."

gabrielle-union-dwayne-wade-1 — Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade with daughter Kaavia. Gabrielle Union/Instagram

Wade opened up to PEOPLE about fatherhood in February ahead of the premiere of his documentary D. Wade: Life Unexpected, discussing how his perspective of parenthood has changed since he welcomed his first child, Zaire.

Admitting he "always" has fears as a parent even presently, the athlete said he's "scared in a different way now" than when he became a first-time father at barely 20 years old.

"Now [Zaire is] 18 and I'm like, 'He's about to go to college' — I'm even more scared," Wade said. "When a kid is born, they don't come out with a pamphlet that's like, 'Okay, these are the directions for this kid.' So you just figure it out and try to help raise someone who's good and kind, and just characteristics that you want your kids to hopefully have. And that's in you already."

"You're afraid because you don't want to mess up; you don't want anything to happen to them," he continued. "But I think, ultimately, we all have it inside of us to help lead someone, whether that's your kids, godson or goddaughter, niece or nephew, coworker — we all have it in us to lead. It's no different when you have a kid."