NBA’s Dwyane Wade honored with statue that ‘looks nothing like him’

Retired NBA legend Dwyane Wade had his new statue unveiled Sunday outside the Kaseya Center, home of the Miami Heat. The statue was not well-received by many fans.
The statue features Wade in a Miami No. 3 jersey with his mouth open, chewing gum while pointing with both hands toward the ground. Fans commented on the Heat’s social media page that they felt the statue looked nothing like Wade.
“His face needs to be fixed,” one fan commented. “Love the honor it represents but please, rework the face, it looks nothing like him.”
“Love it that Wade now has his statue but sad that it doesn’t even look like him, not even close,” another fan wrote.
The statues were sculpted by Omri Amrany and Oscar León. The two sculptors said it was “special” to have Wade involved in designing the statue.
León said the process of sculpting the statue began in December and that the final adjustments were made until three weeks ago.
“He was very much looking for little things specific to him and we were able to execute everything,” León said.
“The commission is a relationship between a client, the sculptor and the artist,” Amrany added. “It is the symbiosis that comes to a completion when you unveil the piece today.”
León noted that the statue has many Easter eggs, including his mother’s name on his left shoe’s heel, his father’s name on the right shoe’s heel, the words “rest in peace Hank” to honor his former agent on the sole, and his childhood home address on his wristband.
Wade said the statue was “beautiful.”
“Because this is out of body, y’all,” Wade said. “This is nothing that you can dream of. This is nothing I ever thought I would experience. I didn’t play for this. I didn’t pick up the basketball for this. I picked up the basketball to change my family’s life. My dad put the basketball in my hand and I kept going because I wanted to change my family’s life.”
Wade played 16 seasons in the NBA, mostly with the Heat. He spent the first 13 years of his career in Miami before joining Chicago in 2016. After a stint in Cleveland, he rejoined the Heat during the 2017-18 season before retiring in 2019.
Wade won three NBA titles with the Heat and was named to 13 NBA All-Star Games.