Bronze statue of Dwayne Wade prompts jokes and critical comments

Getting a statue is a big deal for many athletes, a sign of significant achievement and recognition of their legacy. Unfortunately for three-time NBA champion Dwayne Wade, the 7-foot-3 bronze figure unveiled in front of the Kaseya Center has mostly drawn jokes and criticism, it doesn’t look like him at all.

The statue was unveiled on October 27, reportedly in reference to the Miami Heat player’s “this is my house” gesture made in response to a double overtime win over the Chicago Bulls late in the 2008-2009 regular season. It was sculpted by Omri Amrany and artist Oscar Leon.

Almost immediately, photos and video of the statue sparked negative reactions and jokes online about how unlike Wade it was. The Associated Press reported the statue trending globally on social media and was mentioned on national news broadcasts.

Commenters on the statue now include Gov. Tim Walz, currently campaigning as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate; Charles Barkley, and Atlantic Ocean staff writer Ross Andersen, who called it “The worst statue in sports history“.

“It’s terrible, but D-Wade, what a class act,” Walz said of The Dan Lebatard Show with Stugotz on October 29. “He says, ‘No, it’s really nice. I’m grateful.’. Yeah, I don’t know how they get it wrong. Don’t you think they’d show it to everyone first?

Walz said the statue looked more like a famous actor.

“When I saw it, I thought Laurence Fishburne,” Walz said with a smile. “I said it really is Laurence.”

Under TNTs Tip Off Show That same night, host Ernie Johnson called the statue a great honor for Wade, before Barkley remarked, “It’s a great honor, but they’ve got to take that thing down.”

Barkley later added, “If you made an ugly statue, this is what it would look like. That thing is horrible.”

According to Front Office Sportsthe company employs 15 artists and has created many statues of athletes including Shaquille O’Neal, Magic Johnson and ten others around the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles; one of Kobe Bryant sitting by the yard with his daughter Gigi; as well as one of Michael Jordan in front of the United Center that debuted in 1994.

Leon told NBC South Florida the concept for the statue began with a collection of photos of Wade that were turned into a clay model. Sixteen hours were spent with Wade at Amrany’s Chicago firm, Studio Rotblatt Amrany, who visited several times and was closely involved with the artists in the creation of the statue. There was also input from the athlete’s closest friends as well as managers of the Miami Heat.

“For the critics, there’s a lot to understand,” Leon said, noting that more than 800 hours of work went into the sculpture. “We have to seal everything to preserve the integrity of the sculpture. However, it creates a funny little side effect of being blank in areas that we are not used to seeing when we look at someone in the flesh.”

“The sealer definitely creates a little bit of, um, confusion to the eye. So I would definitely encourage everyone to come to Miami and see it in person,” Leon said.

Wade is aware of the comments and criticism of the statue. He defended its appearance, narrator Associated Press“If I wanted it to look like me, I’d just stand outside the arena and y’all can take pictures.”

“It doesn’t have to look like me. It’s the artistic version of a moment that happened that we’re trying to cement.”

Wade also praised the production process. “I don’t know many people with a statue. Do you? Does anyone here know anything about the process of a statue? Nobody out there does either,” Wade said. “And then it’s an incredible process to be a part of. And it is a complicated process.”