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Dwyane Wade statue unveiled at Miami Heat arena

Posted on by Bobb
Dwyane Wade statue unveiled at Miami Heat arena

The spotlight is on Dwyane Wade.

October 27 Miami Heat opened the statue of the franchise’s legendary star outside the Kasei Center, raising some eyebrows.

The statue depicts the three-time NBA champion making the “this is my home” gesture after a double-overtime win over the Chicago Bulls in 2009. Wade himself says that he is responsible for this pose.

Dwyane Wade statue outside the Miami Heat arena.
A close-up of the newly unveiled Dwyane Wade statue on October 27 in Miami.D. A. Varela/Miami Herald/Getty Images

“Yes, it was my idea. I feel like if you have a moment like that, it should be a moment where someone is thinking about you, it should be a moment that represents that,” he told Craig Melvin in an interview that aired Oct. 28 on 3rd hour TODAY.

“If you walk past the different statues, you’ll see Kobe walking away with his finger up, Shaq taking a shot with his feet up, Jordan (imitating Jordan’s pose) introducing him. And so my statue was meant to be the moment you think of me.”

The problem, however, is that some fans don’t quite think this work is like Wade, and have taken to X to say so.

“They made Dwyane Wade look like one level of Mortal Kombat,” one person joked.

“The Miami Heat should have held a contest where they showed this photo to 1,000 fans, and whoever guessed it was Dwyane Wade would get a statue of themselves,” ESPN’s Jeff Darlington joked.

“The Dwyane Wade statue will haunt me until the day I die,” another person commented.

“Why does the Dwyane Wade statue look like Beach Frazier?” film critic Richard Roper wrotepointing out how much he resembles Kelsey Grammer.

While the reaction hasn’t been entirely positive, Wade is thrilled the team has honored him with a statue and said he’s having a hard time wrapping his head around the moment.

“It’s impossible to measure,” he said. “Hall of Fame: Okay, a couple hundred went into the Hall of Fame. But when you come here and hear talk about statues, that number becomes very, very low. And I don’t even know if I have the right emotions for this.”

The game that inspired Wade to create the statue is still very much alive for Wade, and he explained what he remembers from it.

“Feeling on top of the world (laughs) and my facial expression, what I said, I meant everything I said. It was one of the best moments of my NBA career.”

It will be hot continue Wade’s celebration during an evening in his honor at the team’s Oct. 28 home game against the Detroit Pistons, which will include “video tributes, activations and a halftime performance by D. Wade himself.”