Yes, Miami Heat icon Dwyane Wade has heard the criticism surrounding the appearance of his new statue in front of Kaseya Center.
“There’s never been a worse sports statue ever,” Bill Simmons of The Ringer said on his platform.
No, Wade doesn’t care.
“Yeah, I have an iPhone, social media. I see all the things,” Wade said on Monday, a day after his statue was unveiled, when asked if he’s seen the reaction to his statue. “There’s a lot of talk about me in the world. Y’all got to know me by now. I care, but I don’t.
“The social media world is about opinions. Everybody has an opinion. Use y’all opinions, please talk more about us. Talk more about the statue, come out and see it, take some photos, send some memes. We don’t care.”
The Heat unveiled the 8-foot “This is my house” bronze statue of Wade during a ceremony in front of Kaseya Center on Sunday — the first Heat statue to go up at its home arena in the franchise’s 37 seasons. The criticism on social media began immediately, with many saying the statue doesn’t look like Wade.
“When sitting down with the Miami Heat and myself, what we wanted to do is we wanted to capture a moment that represented the organization, represented myself and represented the city,” Wade said just a few hours before the Heat held “Dwyane Wade Statue Night” during Monday’s matchup against the Detroit Pistons at Kaseya Center. “I felt like we captured that moment in an artistic form in an artistic way. If I wanted it to look like me, I would just stand outside the arena and y’all would take photos. It don’t need to look like me. It’s an artistic version of a moment that happened that we’re trying to cement.”
Wade’s statue was created by Rotblatt Amrany Studio sculptors Omri Amrany and Oscar León. Among the other statues that Rotblatt Amrany Studio is responsible for are “Michael Jordan Spirit” in Chicago, and the Kobe Bryant “Black Mamba” statue and the “Kobe and Gianna Bryant Memorial Statue” in Los Angeles.
“I couldn’t do better than that,” Amrany said to Will Manso of WPLG-ABC. “I don’t think anybody else can do better than that. It is what it is, and we will love it forever.”
Of the criticism being directed at the sculptors, Wade said Monday: “I hate that for them because they are in a different world when it comes to the work that they’re doing and what they create.”
“Every time they create something, someone has to come out and say something about their creation that can’t do what they do,” Wade added. “I know what that feels like because I was a former athlete, who people talked about me a lot but they couldn’t do what I do. So you learn how to just laugh, look at it, learn from it, move on, whatever. So we good, we good.”
Wade, 42, is widely considered to be the greatest player in Heat history.
Drafted by Miami with the fifth overall pick in 2003, Wade is the Heat’s all-time leader in categories like points, games played, minutes played, assists and steals and is considered one of the top shooting guards in NBA history. Among his most impressive accomplishments: three championships with the Heat (2006, 2012, 2013), a Finals MVP award in 2006 and an NBA scoring title in the 2008-09 season.
Through all the social media memes and jokes, Wade remains grateful for his statue.
“My family and I just woke up today still in disbelief, still in disbelief that we were chosen and that I was chosen to be the first person in this organization’s history to have that honor,” Wade said. “I appreciate the comments that everybody has because I’m in on the joke, guys. I laugh all the time. I saw some memes today and I was like, ‘Yeah, it kind of got a little Laurence Fishburne with the lower jawline.’”
In on the jokes, but still in awe of the honor.
WADE’S MESSAGE TO BUTLER
When asked what his message is for Heat star Jimmy Butler when it comes to outsiders doubting whether Butler can again lead the team to the NBA Finals at 35 years old, Wade said Monday: “Showing people you still got it, I don’t think he needs to concern himself with that.”
Instead, Wade feels that Butler “needs to figure out this team this year and how he’s going to be the best version of Jimmy Butler for this team.”
“Roles change and you got to find that role and you got to find that comfort,” Wade continued. “So right now, we’re watching a team finding themselves and Jimmy has to find his role on this year’s team. It’s not the same as the first year when he got here. The personnel is different. He’s different, he’s older, as well. Miles are adding up. But he’s smarter as a basketball player than he’s ever been.”
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