The Miami Heat unveiled the statue honoring Dwyane Wade in front of their home Kaseya Center on Sunday. The 8-foot bronze statue freezes Wade in his 2009 “This is my house” celebration after he hit a buzzer beater to take down the Chicago Bulls.

To some fans and viewers, the pose — more than the statue’s likeness to Wade — was the most noticeable identifier of the 2023 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductee.

BREAKING: Dwyane Wade statue. 😳 pic.twitter.com/9zeiJT23NZ

— NBACentel (@TheNBACentel) October 27, 2024

Some compared the statue to the likes of actor Laurence Fishburne, actor Djimon Hounsou, Washington Commanders linebackers coach Ken Norton Jr., former NFL cornerback Aneas Williams and Maryland governor Wes Moore on X on Sunday.

Others, like LAFC play-by-play announcer Maximiliano Bretos, were left wondering how talents of 15th century artists like Michelangelo couldn’t be summoned when immortalizing one of the most beloved figures in Miami sports history.

All due respect to the great Dwyane Wade, but how come our society is getting so bad at making statues? Michelangelo was crushing this form in 15th century.
Downhill since…
pic.twitter.com/d9j3fi5JIU

— Maximiliano Bretos (@MaxBretosSports) October 27, 2024

Wade, in a Sunday news conference, admitted his personal bias before calling it one of the most “beautiful statues ever created.”

“Because of what it represents,” he continued. “For us and for me. But man, I had so many emotions … I had a couple tears falling down a little bit. I know it’s bigger than me. I’m here right now. I’m present right now, but I know this moment goes way beyond just now.”

Wade joins Kobe Bryant, George Mikan, Shaquille O’Neal, Jerry West, Magic Johnson, Elgin Baylor, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain, John Stockton, Karl Malone, Dominique Wilkins and Dirk Nowitzki among players honored with a statue at an NBA arena.

In 2020, Wade became the fifth Heat player to have his number retired by the organization after Alonzo Mourning, Shaquille O’Neal, Chris Bosh and Tim Hardaway. No one in franchise history has accounted for more games (948), minutes (32,912), points (21,556), assists (5,310), made field goals (8,385), steals (1,492) and 40-point games than Wade.

But in the immediate moments following the statue unveiling, Wade didn’t care for the mathematics — or optics — of it all. Instead, he tried to stay present.

“I wanted to feel this. Life goes by so fast. It’s very rare that we get to feel things, because we’re always off to the next thing. So I didn’t prepare much because I just wanted to feel this,” Wade said. “I wanted to look at it. Like, ‘That’s crazy, who is that guy?’”

Correction: A previous version of this post miscounted the number of former players with statues at NBA arenas. Wade is the 14th, not the fifth.

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(Photo: Jasen Vinlove / USA Today)