Dwyane Wade statue unveiled in Miami as fans claim it looks nothing like him

The Miami Heat honored Dwyane Wade by unveiling a statue of the basketball legend outside the Kaseya Center in Miami, sealing his legacy with the team and making him the first Heat player with a statue outside the arena.

The statue was unveiled at a ceremony Sunday, about eight months after team president Pat Riley announced plans to cement Wade's legacy with the Heat, according to the NBA.

“This is crazy,” Wade said after the statue was unveiled. “I wanted to feel that. Life goes by so quickly and it is very rare that we feel things because we are always moving on to the next thing. …I wanted to feel that, man. I wanted to look at it.”

In comments after the reveal, Wade said he never expected this moment.

“That’s not what I played for,” he said at the ceremony. “I didn’t pick up the basketball for that. I picked up basketball to change my family’s life.”

He also said he was “one of the luckiest men in the world” because “people believe in me.”

The statue, designed by Omri Amrany and Oscar León of Timeless Creations, stands outside the front doors of the Kaseya Center.

Wade was visibly taken aback by the statue, remarking, “This is crazy. I can't believe that. Who is this guy?” just moments after he first saw it. After taking his place on the podium in front of the statue, he turned several times to admire the giant version of himself with a smile on his face.

However, Wade's fans online weren't so thrilled, saying the statue looked little like him.

Making light of Wade's “Who is this guy?” Comment, a user on X said: “We're all wondering the same thing.”

The statue appears to show Wade in the middle of the celebration, with his mouth wide open, eyes narrowed and arms raised as he points downward.

Another user joked that the statue was actually “Wayne Dade,” and a third compared it to actor Laurence Fishburne.

“The Miami Heat should have held a contest where they would show this picture to 1,000 fans – and anyone who guesses it's Dwyane Wade gets to keep the statue,” Jeff Darlington, a reporter for ESPN, joked on X.

When Wade was asked at a news conference Sunday about the moment he saw the statue, he said he thought, “This is beautiful.”

“I think it's one of the best statues ever created because it has meaning for us and for me,” he said.

Wade played 13 seasons with the Heat, from 2003 to 2016, before moving to the Chicago Bulls for one season, followed by one season with the Cleveland Cavaliers, before returning to Miami for his final season in the NBA.

Beside the statue is a wall detailing Wade's many professional accomplishments, including being the Heat's all-time leading scorer.

According to the NBA, Wade is one of two players who played on all three Miami Heat teams that won NBA championships. The other is Udonis Haslem.

His own team calls him “the greatest player in Miami Heat history,” and he is one of six former Heat players whose numbers the team has retired.

Wade, a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, was one of the Heat's famed Big Three from 2010 to 2014, along with Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh. During their time together, the Heat won two NBA championships and four Eastern Conference championships.

Wade was also part of the gold medal-winning team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and won a bronze medal at the 2004 Athens Games.

The celebration continues Monday when Miami takes on the Detroit Pistons in what the team is calling a “special Wade game night” that will feature video tributes and a halftime address from Wade.

Monday's game also marks the 21st anniversary of Wade's first game with the team, according to the NBA.

At Sunday's unveiling, Wade was grateful, thanking fans for following his career and adding after the statue's unveiling: “I think I've given you something set in stone to hold on to. “

“This is my house,” he concluded. “I’m out.”