Dwyane Wade statue looks completely different now and thats a very good thing

Heat legend Dwyane Wade said he heard the opinions about his statue outside the Kaseya Center in Miami and “whether it actually looked like me” loud and clear.The Heat shared photos of Wade’s statue Friday and said it was “a closer look at the enhancements to his statue.” The team did not elaborate on the adjustments, but the images showed a new head on Wade’s body .

Many criticized the first version of the statue, which was revealed in October 2024, saying it didn’t look like the three-time NBA champ.“I heard the jokes.I saw the memes.

I read the reactions,” Wade said Friday in a Substack post.“Everybody had an opinion about whether it actually looked like me.”Wade, who previously said he was heavily involved in the making of the statue with artists Oscar León of Rotblatt Amrany Studio and Omri Amrany, chose an iconic moment from his Heat career that the statue commemorates.It was his “This is my house!” celebration after he hit a one-legged game-winning three-pointer as time expired to break a 127-127 score against the Bulls in double overtime on March 9, 2009.Wade, who finished that game with 48 points, six rebounds, 12 assists, four steals and three blocks, jumped on the scorer’s table and yelled, declaring Miami’s arena his home while pointing his both index fingers downward.“So eventually, 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 said on Substack.

“So we listened and had honest conversations with everyone involved, and we all agreed to make adjustments to the head.The process was different this time because we could focus on one specific part instead of recreating the entire statue.

I enjoyed the original process, but I also appreciated the simplicity and focus of this one.“It gave us a chance to make sure the face better connects with the person and the emotion the statue is meant to represent.

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