Dwyane Wade Raves About 'Incredible' Wife Gabrielle Union as He Joins AGT as Guest Judge
From the basketball court to a reality competition stage: Dwyane Wade is joining the America’s Got Talent judging panel.
The retired NBA star, who played his final season with the Miami Heat in May, is the second star to serve as a season 14 guest judge — and will sit alongside wife Gabrielle Union.
“Joining my wife as a guest judge on America’s Got Talent was such an incredible experience,” Wade, 37, tells PEOPLE of working with Union, whom he married in August 2014. (They welcomed daughter Kaavia in November 2018.)
“Watching Gabrielle change people’s lives and make dreams come true was very special,” the former athlete adds.
Wade also got some help with deciding his Golden Buzzer choice from Union’s fellow judges Simon Cowell, Julianne Hough and Howie Mandel as well as host Terry Crews.
“I hope my Golden Buzzer moment inspires others to never give up on their dreams,” Wade says.
RELATED: Gabrielle Union on the ‘Beauty’ of America’s Got Talent: ‘You Never Know What’s Coming’
In her first season as an AGT judge, Union already made an impact on one lucky contestant’s life, bestowing her Golden Buzzer to 22-year-old singer Kodi Lee, who is blind and has autism.
“For me, whoever I’m going to ultimately be rooting for, whether that was my Golden Buzzer or just acts, I want to remember you beyond the day,” she previously told PEOPLE. “There are some acts that are so special that I say, I want to fall in love. Not just with your ability but with you as a person and root for you, care about you.”
RELATED VIDEO: Howie Mandel Says Terry Crews’ AGT Golden Buzzer Moment Was Both ‘Beautiful & ‘Heart-Wrenching’
Union added, “To me, that’s what makes a superstar. You can’t just be talented, the world is filled with just talented people. I got to care about the whole operation.”
Wade follows country star Brad Paisley, who kicked off the Judge Cuts on Tuesday, selecting 15-year-old singer Sophie Pecora as his Golden Buzzer choice and likening her to pop star Taylor Swift.
America’s Got Talent airs Tuesdays (8 p.m. ET) on NBC.
