Dwyane Wade is excited about the unveiling of his Miami Heat statue

A statue honoring Dwyane Wade has been unveiled – and it has a special connection to his late friend Kobe Bryant.

On Sunday, October 27, the 42-year-old Miami Heat legend was honored with a statue of himself at the Kaseya Center in Miami. The 8-foot bronze effigy is a tribute to Wade, who struck the “This is my house” pose in March 2009 after winning an overtime double-play against the Chicago Bulls, according to the Miami Herald.

In a video shared by Fox Sports reporter Rachel Nichols on X (formerly Twitter), Wade can be seen admiring the statue after it was unveiled. “This is out of body, y’all,” he said as the statue came into view.

“This is crazy,” he added during his speech after the unveiling, impressed by the sculpture that immortalized him. “I can't believe that. Who is this guy?”

According to Rotblatt Amrany Studio, the statue was made by sculptors Omri Amrany and Oscar León Miami Herald. Her works include the Black Mamba statue of Kobe Bryant and the Kobe and Gianna Bryant Memorial Statue.

“Wade put a lot of thought into what the statue would look like and visited the sculptor several times,” Nichols said of the design process at He saw both that it was more than just metal in front of him, it was immortality.

“He left very happy. On this last visit he had seen basically everything he wanted to see. We made all the adjustments he wanted,” León confirmed of the sculpture, according to 7 News Miami.

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Wade ended his tell-all speech with a smart statement that cemented his legacy. “I think I gave you something set in stone to hold on to,” he said Miami Herald. “This is my house. I’m out.”

Wade spoke to PEOPLE in February 2020 about the legacy that Bryant, who died in January 2020, built after his basketball career. “The legacy he built outside of this club was being there for the players and being a voice for the next generation,” he said at the time.

“Training them, being on the field with them, being in his kids’ lives, being a real all-star superstar parent. To be a great husband,” he added.

After Bryant's death, Wade posted a video of himself crying, saying it was “one of the saddest days of my life.”

Wade played for the Heat from 2003 to 2016 before moving to the Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers for one season each. He eventually returned to the Heat for one final season before retiring in 2019.

He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2023 and is considered one of the best shooting guards in NBA history.