Yahoo News Dwyane Wade Tells Athletes 'Humble Yourself' to Succeed After Retiring: 'There's Much More Left' (Exclusive)
Wade talks to PEOPLE about how he found success in the entertainment industry after retiring from the NBA
When Dwyane Wade was drafted by the Miami Heat in 2003, he wasn't thinking about his life after retirement, much less planning on becoming the host of his own series.
But as Wade, 41, prepares for the second season of his TBS show The Cube to premiere on Sunday, he tells PEOPLE the secrets to his success after retirement.
"Hopefully, the guys leaving the game of basketball understand that that's just a portion of their life. There's so much more left — and that's when it gets fun," Wade says.
After his competitive career, the former Miami Heat star says he applied the same formula for success that led him to three NBA championships while pursuing new roles in the entertainment industry. The best way to begin that process, according to Wade, is by asking questions.
"Once you ask the right questions, you'll realize that you actually know how to do a lot of things in this world," he explains. "You just have to correlate it to the work that you put into becoming a great athlete."
Wade admits he's "still trying to understand what it's like to be on TV in this capacity" as the host of TBS' version of the UK-originated game show, but his ability to put his ego aside and learn from his collaborators has been crucial to his success in the entertainment industry.
"Just come in like you don't know anything," Wade says.
He continues, "Listen, humble yourself, but at the same time, that same work that you put in to become great in a respective sport, use that same energy, that same focus to attack the things that you want to accomplish when you get done. It's there for you, you just have to take it."
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Mistakes will be made along the way, Wade adds. "I didn't know what the hell I was doing in season one," he laughs. "I learned to be very thankful for the editing."
Editing helps, but Wade admits he still gets nervous when shooting the series, especially considering the second season was the first he hosted in front of a live audience. "If I mess up on a read or if I miss one of the shots, the pressure is a little different," he says.
"I don't have a lot of practice at this, so I was thankful for that pressure because that's the athlete within me, right? Pressure is where you perform, so it added a whole different element to the competition this year," Wade says.
Upcoming episodes of the show will feature Wade's wife Gabrielle Union and several of his closest friends, including fellow former NBA star Shaquille O'Neal, whose career post-retirement has been an inspiration for Wade.
"It was so great for us to have Shaq," he says. "For him to get a chance to come in and play these games and see what this show is like, to see his little brother hosting the show and doing something different, it was a proud moment for me. I hope that he appreciated that I'm still climbing to try to become everything he's seen in me."
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