Dwyane Wade's Miami Heat Statue Was Unveiled and the Internet Hates It

The Miami Heat's unveiling ceremony for a statue of NBA Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade was very un-Miami-like. So was the statue.

By Naomi Feinstein and Zulekha Pitts

October 27, 2024

Image: photo of the Miami Heat "Big Three" of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh, with Wade's head subbed out for the screaming head of his statue outside the Kaseya Center

The return of the Big Three! Image via TodayInSports/X

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They flocked to the Kaseya Center on Sunday from as far away as Connecticut and Canada. They lined up two hours early to ensure they'd have a good vantage point and wouldn't miss a single second of the action.

Which is to say everything about the Miami Heat's unveiling ceremony for a statue of NBA Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade was very un-Miami-like.

Including the statue of NBA Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade, (which was also...strikingly un-Dwyane Wade-like).

After the throng that had RSVPed for tickets to the free event had sufficiently broiled under the Magic City sun and the fancy case around the bronze sculpture fancily fell open like the petals of a flower (if a flower were shaped like a crate), Wade himself was the first to comment.

"Who is that guy?" he said.

In any other situation, it might have been taken as a metaphorical nod to the immensity of the event — a living legend, beholding his likeness cast in bronze by sculptors Omri Amrany and Oscar León of the Rotblatt Armany Studio. (The studio is also behind a Michael Jordan statue at the United Center and a Kobe Bryant statue outside Crypto Arena in Los Angeles.)

Only the first thing on the minds of most of those assembled was probably the exact same thing when the fake smoke cleared and the statue loomed for all to see.

Who is that guy?

More permanent than the 🔑 under the mat pic.twitter.com/Z6rPHKPNaa
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) October 27, 2024

Not surprisingly, observers on social media weren't far behind.

"The Dwyane Wade statue will haunt me until my dying day," one user observed on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

Another likened the Wade tribute to the famously botched bust of soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo: "All I can think about right now."

All I can think about right now pic.twitter.com/LWRDwbBLGM
— Master (@MasterTes) October 27, 2024

Another user thought maybe the artist mixed up Wade with Dwayne Johnson.

Is that the rock? https://t.co/vCBJv8Yj24
— Robert (@JRAMNOTTHAGOAT) October 27, 2024

This is my house? How about, "This is my horse"?

When they got to the head https://t.co/Rr6YdA5sAK pic.twitter.com/qinfqBvFqL
— Razor Jamón (@CPoTweetsStuff) October 27, 2024

Former Miami Herald scribe Don Van Natta Jr. detected a Laurence Fishburne vibe.

- Face is Laurence Fishburne in a KIA TV commercial https://t.co/REWU9Zwh9p pic.twitter.com/nAdcMX9aMF
— Don Van Natta Jr. (@DVNJr) October 27, 2024

Or maybe Kelsey Grammer, AKA Frasier?

MIAMI HEAT: Is the statue ready?

SCULPTOR: Yep, Kelsey Grammer.

MIAMI HEAT: Uh, no? Dwyane Wade.

SCULPTOR:

MIAMI HEAT: Hello?

SCULPTOR: Gimme a few minutes. https://t.co/rVhIQFFItH
— Mike Beauvais (@MikeBeauvais) October 27, 2024

Another fan said what many were wondering: Why didn't the Heat keep it real? "This Wade statue is crazy 😭," they wrote. "The Miami Heat need a refund and a do-over. Wade deserves better than this 😂."

This Wade statue is crazy 😭 The Miami Heat need a refund and a do over. Wade deserves better than this 😂 pic.twitter.com/3QUP3XLVdJ
— J€ff (@JV305) October 27, 2024

And finally, there was CBS Sports basketball host and analyst Ashley Nicole Moss, who captioned her take "I'M CRYING."

IM CRYING pic.twitter.com/Ln6miKC2NI
— Ashley Nicole Moss (@AshNicoleMoss) October 27, 2024

Naomi Feinstein is a staff writer of Miami New Times where she primarily focuses on news. Naomi started her career with New Times as a summer intern in 2019, then returned as a fellow in August 2022 before joining the staff full-time in February 2023. She graduated from University of Miami where she contributed to the student-run newspaper, the Miami Hurricane. She holds a master’s degree and graduated with honors from the Columbia School of Journalism. In 2021, Naomi was recognized as the College Journalist of the Year from the Society of Professional Journalists of Florida, and she placed second for Best General News Story in the 2021 Pinnacle Awards.

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Though she's a Jersey girl by birth, former staff writer Zulekha Pitts — Zee to her family and friends, has deep roots in Florida. Before coming to New Times in 2024, she worked as a content creator and digital producer for USA Today and content producer for 3TV and CBS 5 News in Phoenix and also has experience as a digital host for the jewelry home-shopping channel Gem Shopping Network in Atlanta. A graduate of Rutgers University with a degree in Journalism and Media Studies, Zee is wrapping up a master's in communication at Villanova.