Dwyane Wade is now the first Miami Heat player with a statue outside the team’s arena, though many of his fans aren’t sure if it’s a fitting tribute.
The Heat unveiled the statue on Sunday, eight months after team president Pat Riley announced plans for the tribute. Wade, a 13-time All-Star, is Miami’s all-time leading scorer, and he and Udonis Haslem are the only players to have been on all three Heat teams that have won NBA championships.
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“This is crazy,” Wade said at the unveiling. “I wanted to feel this. Life goes by so fast and it’s very rare that we feel things because we’re always moving on to the next thing. … I wanted to feel this, man. I wanted to look at it.”
Others were less gushing about the statue, which bears only a passing resemblance to Wade, and compared it to an infamous rendition of Cristiano Ronaldo that attracted widespread derision.
“Man who the hell is this??? The Miami Heat trashed Dwyane Wade with this statue lmao,” one user wrote on social media.
Another referenced Wade’s move to the Chicago Bulls towards the end of his career. “When Pat Riley won’t give you max money, so you have to sign with the Bulls,” they wrote.
Others suggested that the statue looked more like the actor Laurence Fishburne than Wade.
Wade, a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, is one of six former Heat players to have his number retired by the team – along with Haslem, Chris Bosh, Tim Hardaway, Shaquille O’Neal and Alonzo Mourning.
“As the greatest player ever in Miami Heat history, yes, it’s his day, it’s his family’s day,” Riley said.
The statue is accompanied by a wall listing Wade’s career accomplishments and was placed outside the front doors of the team’s arena. Wade is now part owner of the Utah Jazz in addition to having many other business interests.
