What’s one of the biggest honors that keeps your legacy alive among the fans? Hall of Fame Induction? Well, a significant number of NBA fans might fail to list 5 Hall of Famers who started their career in the 80s. A few more decades, and fans might forget many names from the 00s era, too, who made it to the HOF. Then is the honor in discussion the jersey retirement? Well, again, the relevance among the fans is short-lived. So it can be agreed upon that a grand way of nearly immortalizing a player’s legacy is making his presence constantly felt among the fans. Some of the ways of doing it? Well, gestures like a street in the athlete’s name or a statue do constantly remind the fans of the legacy that once was.
Exactly what the intentions were when the Miami Heat decided to get a Dwyane Wade statue at Kaseya Center. Little would the management or the 3x NBA champ imagine that the statue’s facial structure would go horribly wrong. So much so that not just fans and netizens but even multiple NBA stars took a jab at Dwyane Wade’s statue. Gilbert Arenas went to the extent of comparing facial structure to Thanos’ chin. Clearly, just getting the statue isn’t enough; getting it right is the key aspect to wow fans. And NBA legend Dominique Wilkins believes his former team, the Atlanta Hawks, did a perfect job there.
The statue captures Wade’s iconic “This is my house” moment from a 2009 double-overtime win against the Chicago Bulls, where he hit a game-winning three-pointer and leaped onto the scorer’s table, claiming the arena. The design, with Wade mid-celebration, aims to bottle that fiery passion, but some fans felt the facial features didn’t quite nail his likeness.
“What he [Brian Hanlon] captured in that statue is everything about who I am. And so when I saw it for the first time, man, I was blown away. I was so emotional, I couldn’t even shed a tear… I was that choked up about it,” Wilkins recalled his initial emotions about his statue. The 9x All-Star further explained his feelings that it wasn’t just about basketball, but represented what he did in that city, and how connected with the fans.
Creating a statue is no easy feat—it’s a mix of art, engineering, and capturing a legend’s spirit. Sculptors like Brian Hanlon, who crafted Wilkins’ statue, spend months consulting with players and teams to pick a defining moment, like Wilkins’ dunks. For Wade’s statue, artists Omri Amrany and Oscar Leon chose his iconic celebration. But getting it right is tricky. Facial proportions, material texture, even lighting can throw things off, which might explain why Wade’s statue got more memes than praise. Hanlon once said in a 2023 interview that the goal is to capture emotion over a perfect likeness, which Wilkins clearly felt his statue achieved.
And connect he did! Even after bidding farewell to basketball, it seems. He recalled driving by the statue in some instances. And in one of those instances, he stopped by, putting up a lawn chair there and having a beer. “I looked up, I said, big fella, we come a long [way]… And that really felt good, man, because it was a moment in my life that I never dreamed of… And even to this day, ma’am, it’s still surreal.”
Yep, the feeling of it still lives with Dominique Wilkins. In fact, the 9x All-Star, in a conversation with Hawks CEO Steve Koonin, told him that the statue seemed ashy in certain spots. “I went back a couple weeks later. It was shiny… So, it’s just fun. Fun, you know, for people to see me go down and interact. Because sometimes I’ll walk by there and I see people stop… It’s just a pleasure to see people admire it,” Wilkins said. A feeling that Dwyane Wade seemingly missed amid all the hate that came in for his statue. However, just like Wilkins, The Flash found his statue to be exactly what he wanted.
Dwyane Wade’s defense of his statue outside Kaseya Center
When D-Wade’s “this is my house” statue made its big debut outside the Kaseya Center last October, the internet did what it does best — it reacted fast. Some fans were quick to point out that the statue didn’t exactly mirror the Miami Heat icon’s looks, while others couldn’t resist creating jokes and memes about it. But Wade? He took it all in stride.
Asked during a press conference if he had seen the memes, he laughed it off, saying, “I get that people have their opinions. If the statue gets people talking, taking photos, and sharing it around, I’m all for it!” Curious how much say Wade had in designing the statue? Turns out, he was very hands-on.
In several interviews, Wade mentioned that he was involved throughout the process, giving feedback and making sure it felt right. And about those critiques that it doesn’t look exactly like him? Wade nailed it: “If you wanted it to look exactly like me, I could just stand outside the arena!”
He also left us with a parting thought: “How many people even know what goes into making a statue?” Well, Dominique Wilkins certainly does. And not just the statue, but also how it feels to have it admired by the fans.
The post “Was Blown Away”: Unlike Dwyane Wade, This NBA Legend’s Iconic Statue Made Fans Stop in Admiration appeared first on EssentiallySports.
