It all started last November when Dwyane Wade got the ultimate Heat salute. Right outside the same arena where he ran the court for over a decade, Wade found himself forever cast in bronze. “I can’t believe it. That’s me back there in an artistic form,” he told PEOPLE. And honestly, it wasn’t just about his legacy—it was a nod to one of the most unforgettable chapters in Miami Heat history. The moment had him feeling “over the moon,” and just like that, the man who gave everything to the city got something back that was bigger than the game.
Still, not everyone was on board with how the statue looked. Yet, that didn’t faze Wade or his family one bit. In fact, they were floating above it all. “We all just on the high, high, and nobody could take us down from our high,” Wade laughed, brushing off the noise. His take? “Everyone has an opinion… but we’re not concerned with no one’s opinion.” That statue was about honoring the journey.
Moreover, Wade wasn’t some bystander in the process either. He actively shaped every detail. From flying out to Chicago to spending hours with the sculptors, he made sure every inch of that statue told a story. “I spent a lot of time on what I wanted this statue to feel like and look like,” he revealed. It was personal, crafted with intention.
Fast forward six months, and now his son Zaire finally spoke up. “I do like that for him,” he said in the 2024 unveiling of the statue, showing love for the tribute. But addressed that the internet started roasting the look. And he didn’t hold back. “I’ll have to… like it,” he admitted. Still, he kept it real—“nobody else got a statue.”
Oct 28, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; A general view of the new Dwyane Wade statue in front of the Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Rhona Wise-Imagn Images
Turns out, Zaire wasn’t hating—he was just amused. “I was just laughing because I’ve never seen him in a statue figure.” As memes flooded social media, Wade delivered the perfect response.
Dwyane Wade’s mic drop response to the trolls
On October 27, 2024, the Miami Heat immortalized Dwyane Wade in the iconic “This is my house” pose, sculpted by Oscar León and Omri Amrany of Studio Rotblatt Amrany, the same team behind Michael Jordan’s and Kobe Bryant’s statues. Yet within hours, fans on X and Instagram erupted. Many likened the statue to the infamous Cristiano Ronaldo’s bust, while others thought it was a statue of American actor Laurence Fishburne!
Then came TNT’s Inside the NBA, and well, they didn’t exactly hold back. Ernie Johnson cracked a Halloween joke, saying folks could dress up as Wade and still look more like him than the actual statue. No one was actually in costume, but the burn was real. The implication? That statue could be anyone, just not D-Wade.
Even though Ernie showed respect and called it a big moment, Charles Barkley took the gloves off. “It’s a great honor, but they gotta take that thing down,” he said straight up. Kenny Smith tried to give the artist a pass, suggesting they may have gone for a stylized look. Barkley didn’t budge—“That thing’s awful,” he declared. Still, Wade didn’t sit quietly through the noise.
Instead, he hit back the Wade way. On Instagram, he posted a video of the statue while singing, “Ain’t doin’ nothin’ if they ain’t hatin’… You can’t even get in.” He followed that up with, “You ain’t in the nostalgia club, you can’t hate on me.” He turned the heat into humor. Because clearly, he’s got the statue and the jokes. He then joked about renaming it “Statuesque Wade,” urging fans to “come to Miami and see it for yourself.”
Whether critics laugh or scholars praise, this statue secures D-Wade’s place not just in Heat history, but in the evolving culture of how we memorialize greatness.
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