The infamous statue that was supposed to look like Dwyane Wade outside the Miami Heat’s arena has finally been given the green light for a facelift.
Mindful of criticism that started coming in waves immediately after the statue was unveiled two years ago, Wade revealed Friday that he consented to having a new head made for the piece.
The original statue was widely panned because the face bore almost no resemblance to Wade, who spent the majority of his Basketball Hall of Fame career starring for the Heat and was a major part of Miami’s three NBA championship teams.
‘I had to ask myself a pretty simple question: “If people don’t feel that connection when they look at the face, why wouldn’t we try to make it better?”‘ Wade wrote in an essay published on Friday.
‘So, we listened and had honest conversations with everyone involved, and we all agreed to make adjustments to the head.’
The work on the sculpture was completed in the last few days, with a plywood box placed over it to keep the public from seeing what was happening. The Heat posted photos of the new, improved statue on Friday, not long before Wade’s essay went public.
Dwyane Wade’s statue at the Miami Heat’s arena got a facelift after it was ridiculed by fans
The statue (seen in 2024( was widely panned by shocked fans when it was first unveiled
Wade became the first Miami Heat player with a statue outside the team’s arena back in 2024
‘This isn’t about erasing the work that was already done or disrespecting the artists who put their time and talent into creating it. It’s about being willing to listen,’ Wade wrote.
‘It’s about recognizing when something carries meaning for more people than just yourself and being open enough to revisit it.’
The original version of the statue was, in Wade’s words, an ‘artistic version of a moment that happened.’
That moment was the end of a game against the Chicago Bulls in March 2009, when he made a shot to win as time was expiring in double overtime, hopped up onto a courtside table as Heat fans roared and yelled, “This is my house.”
The way his body is depicted in the statue seems to be reminiscent of that moment. The face, not so much.
As photos of the statue went viral on social media in 2024, fans were quick to mock the unveiling, swiftly turning it into new meme fodder.
‘Miami Heat did Dwyane Wade dirty,’ one fan claimed on X, formerly known as Twitter, while another agreed, posting: ‘Dwyane Wade’s statue is some NASTY WORK.’
‘Shame on whoever greenlit this—it doesn’t even look like Dwyane Wade. Y’all could’ve done better. This looks like a statue straight off Temu,’ a third wrote, referencing the Chinese online shopping site.
Wade and wife Gabrielle Union pictured at Miami’s game against Dallas earlier this week
Another echoed the bewilderment, saying: ‘Honestly though, how’d that D Wade statue get cleared? When DwyaneWade said “who is that guy” part of him had to be thinking, that’s really the best y’all could do.’
‘The Dwyanewade statue looks like hes riding a invisible motorcycle,’ one joked, while another quipped, ‘Damn, the Heat did Wade dirty. Gave him the Cristiano Ronaldo treatment,’ referencing the viral statue of the Portuguese soccer star.
‘This statue is so bad it’s making me forget what DwyaneWade actually looks like. The longer I look, the harder it is for me to picture his real face,’ one social media user shared.
‘DwyaneWade trying to figure out who this statue is,’ another joked alongside a photo of the former point guard looking up at the statue.
