Dwyane Wade’s newly unveiled statue in Miami honors a memorable moment in his career but has sparked debate over its artistic interpretation. The statue, depicting Wade’s iconic double-overtime game-winning shot against the Chicago Bulls in March 2009, features a representation that has received mixed reactions, particularly regarding its likeness to the player.
Wade discussed the statue’s creation process on Monday, the day after its unveiling, noting that the face does not perfectly resemble him. “If I wanted it to look like me, I’d just stand outside the arena and y’all can take photos,” he remarked. “It don’t need to look like me. It’s the artistic version of a moment that happened that we’re trying to cement.”
The moment captured by the statue recalls Wade’s dramatic buzzer-beater and subsequent celebration, where he proclaimed, “This is my house.” The pose of the statue reflects this iconic celebration, although the face has drawn significant attention on social media and national news.
“I care, but I don’t,” Wade said regarding the feedback. “The social media world is about opinions. Everyone has an opinion. Everyone, use y’all opinions. Please talk more about us. Talk more about a statue, come on down to see it, take some photos, send some memes. We don’t care.”
The statue was crafted by Studio Rotblatt Amrany, a Chicago-based company, taking approximately 800 hours to complete. Wade was involved throughout the process and expressed admiration for the sculptors’ work.
“I don’t know a lot of people with a statue. Do you? Anybody here, y’all know anything about the process of a statue? No one out there do neither,” Wade noted. “And so, it’s an unbelievable process to be a part of. And it’s a complicated process.”
Wade, the all-time leading scorer for the Miami Heat, is the first player in the franchise’s history to be honored with a statue. While the Heat organization has not announced plans for additional statues, Wade’s unveiling drew a gathering of family and members of the team.
“It was a great celebration for all of us,” said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. “We love to celebrate greatness. We love to celebrate all these iconic players, iconic moments.”
Wade acknowledged some of the humorous memes circulating online, with some suggesting the statue resembled actor Laurence Fishburne. He expressed sympathy for the artists facing criticism, emphasizing the challenges that come with public feedback on creative work.
“Every time they create something, someone has to come out and say something about their creation. They cannot do what they do,” Wade stated. “I know what that feels like because I’m an athlete, a former athlete. People talked about me a lot, but they couldn’t do what I do. And so, you learn how to just laugh, look at it, learn from it, move on, whatever. So, we good. We good.”
