Heat unveils Dwyane Wade statue, but many believe sculpture has nothing to do with Hall of Famer

Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade was honored by the Miami Heat on Sunday with the unveiling of a statue in his honor outside the Kaseya Center. Such a gesture is arguably the ultimate tribute that a professional sports franchise or program can pay to an iconic figure.

Wade was certainly impressed by the spectacle of having created a sculpture of himself that generations of fans outside the Heat's home arena can now look at and commemorate one of the team's greatest players.

The statue immortalized the moment on March 9, 2009, when Wade hit a game-winning shot in a two-overtime match against the Chicago Bulls, after which he stood on the scorer's table and declared, “This is my house!”

But as impressive as the sculpture and the Heat's display may have been, after the statue's unveiling, many noted that the bronze monument didn't really resemble the NBA star.

The reaction to the statue and its lack of resemblance to the real figure being honored was similar to the reaction to the bronze bust of international soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, which was unveiled at the airport in his native Madeira, Portugal.

The outrage over a silly, cartoonish depiction of the strikingly handsome Ronaldo was so loud and global that a new sculpture was commissioned that almost everyone agreed was much more similar to its actual subject.

A State Farm commercial featuring former NFL quarterback and current Prime Video studio analyst Ryan Fitzpatrick poked fun at a ridiculous disappointment in him.

Everyone involved, including Jake from State Farm and Fitzpatrick's colleague Charissa Thompson, insisted the sculpture's resemblance was spot on. But Fitzpatrick was in disbelief, and viewers of the ad certainly agreed on how absurd the bust looked.

Here we are in real life again, drawing a parallel to a comedic commercial that spoofs just such moments.

Perhaps in the coming days someone will ask Fitzpatrick — himself a former professional athlete from Miami who played for the Dolphins from 2019 to 2020 — what he thinks of the Wade statue. At least he could repeat the question “What did I do to deserve this?” Line from the commercial and apply it to the NBA Hall of Famer.

Regardless of what the statue looks like, Wade definitely deserves such an honor. (However, many would argue that he deserves a sculpture that better resembles him.)

The guard played 15 of his 16 seasons with the Heat, averaging 22.7 points. 5.4 assists and 4.7 rebounds in 948 regular season games for Miami. As part of the “Big Three,” he won three NBA championships with LeBron James and Chris Bosh and a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Wade was also a 13-time All-Star throughout his career and led the league with an average of 30.2 points in the 2008-09 season. The Heat retired his jersey number, No. 3, in 2020 and he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2023.

If Wade agrees with the look of the statue, that should be the final word. And realistically, he won't publicly criticize the likeness. But if the public outcry is loud and long enough, perhaps he will get the tribute fans believe he deserves.