Dwyane Wade will be the first Heat player with a statue in his honor.
Dwyane Wade’s legacy with the Miami Heat will be immortalized with a statue outside the Kaseya Center in 2024, team president Pat Riley announced on Jan. 14. It will be the first statue erected to honor a former Heat player.
“When we retired his jersey in February 2020, I said Dwyane was the face of this franchise forever and I meant it,” Pat Riley said. “Dwyane’s legacy is a towering one not only for the Miami Heat but for Miami-Wade County. I can’t think of a better way to honor him than by memorializing that legacy.”
Dwyane Wade will be the first Miami Heat player to have a statue outside the Kaseya Center. 👏
Wade played 15 seasons for the Heat over two different stints after Miami drafted him No. 5 overall out of Marquette in 2003. He went on to make 12 consecutive NBA All-Star teams from 2004 to 2015 as well as eight All-NBA teams and won the NBA scoring title in 2008. Wade won three NBA Finals as well – in 2005 (where he won Finals MVP), 2010 and 2011. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2023.
“I’m not really a person who gets lost for words. I got too many words, actually. I didn’t dream of this, though,” Wade said. “… I’m just so grateful. I can’t wait for families to be able to experience what that’s going to be like from all around the world.”
“I didn’t dream of this…”
D-Wade emotional after finding out the Heat are building him a statue 🥹
Omri Amrany and Oscar León – the same sculptors who worked on the statues of Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal, Dirk Nowitzki and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – will also build Wade’s, the team announced in a statement.
Wade Joins Other NBA Legends With Statues
As mentioned earlier, Wade’s statue will be sculpted by those that have experience making iconic monuments for some of the NBA’s best players.
Jordan’s in Chicago is perhaps the most famous, but there are a ton of others across the country. O’Neal, Abdul-Jabbar, Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gianna, all have statues in Los Angeles. Larry Bird and Bill Russell have theirs in Boston. Wilt Chamberlain’s, Julius Erving’s and Charles Barkley’s are in Philadelphia.
And then there are singular statues of Nowitzki (Dallas), Oscar Robertson (Cincinnati), Tim Duncan (San Antonio), Reggie Miller (Indianapolis) and Hakeem Olajuwon (Houston). Wade will now join that exclusive group after his Hall of Fame career.
He later explained that the feeling he had when he saw Jordan’s statue in Chicago is the same one he imagines other generations of fans will have once they see his statue outside the arena where the Heat play.
Part of Dwyane Wade’s answer on having a statue here at the arena
Reaction To Wade Statue
Unsurprisingly, there was a lot of positive reactions after the announcement was made.
The first came from Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, who embraced Wade soon after the announcement Spoelstra was an assistant during Wade’s first NBA championship and the head coach during the other two titles.
Lots of love for Wade on our bench ❤️
Current Heat players Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler also made sure to give Wade a big hug as well.
Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler congratulating Dwyane Wade tonight on the Miami Heat Hall of Fame
Hopefully one day these two will be next 🙏
Record producer and Heat fan DJ Khaled also explained how the legacy of Wade left an indelible mark on the city of Miami.
DJ Khaled on the love for D-Wade in the 305 🗣️
Wade’s legacy was already secured after he made the Hall of Fame. Now, it will live on forever. What comes next will be what iconic Wade stance they use for the statue.