The Miami Heat held a ceremony outside their arena Sunday to inaugurate their first player immortalized in a statue.
Fans knew it would be a moment to honor Dwyane Wade, the most accomplished player in franchise history. By the time the statue had been unveiled, however, many were left perplexed by what they were looking at.
The statue went viral Sunday over its portrayal of Wade’s face, seemingly unrecognizable from his likeness.
Wade, for his part, appeared to enjoy the ceremony and basked in the moment.
‘This is crazy,’ Wade said Sunday. ‘I wanted to feel this. Life goes by so fast and it’s very rare that we get to feel things, because we’re always off to the next thing.
All things Heat: Latest Miami Heat news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.
‘I wanted to feel this, man. I wanted to look at it.’
Wade, one of the six former Heat players to have his numbered retired by the team, was heavily involved in the creation of the statue, which was sculpted by Omri Amrany and Oscar León of Rotblatt Amrany Studios. Wade said he traveled to Chicago four times to meet with the sculptors and to provide feedback on its progress.
The other Heat players with their numbers retired are Udonis Haslem, Chris Bosh, Tim Hardaway, Shaquille O’Neal and Alonzo Mourning.
In June 2021, the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners designated a small stretch of NE 7th Street across from Biscayne Boulevard in Miami, directly in front of the Kaseya Center, as Dwyane Wade Boulevard.
The Heat will honor Wade in an in-game ceremony Monday night, when the team hosts the Detropt Pistons, which marks the 21st anniversary of Wade’s debut during his rookie season.
Here are some of the best reactions to the Dwyane Wade statue
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast.Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.