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Dwyane Wade's Reaction to Odd-Looking Heat Statue Led to Endless Jokes From NBA Fans

This was priceless.

Tom Dierberger

The Heat unveiled a new Dwyane Wade statue outside the Kaseya Center in Miami on Sunday.
The Heat unveiled a new Dwyane Wade statue outside the Kaseya Center in Miami on Sunday. / NBA
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Dwyane Wade had himself a day to remember Sunday, as the Miami Heat unveiled a new statue of his likeness outside Kaseya Center to celebrate his legendary status within the franchise.

The statue, however, is rather unforgettable as well—and not for good reason.

Like many other statues of modern athletes erected in recent years, it fell short of actually looking like Wade. The statue was sculpted to replicate Wade's iconic stance he made after a game-winning buzzer-beater in 2009. While the pose held up, the face looked nothing like Wade.

The NBA posted a video of Wade's reaction to seeing the statue for the first time.

Now, chances are Wade's reaction probably was more about soaking in the special moment next to his family than critiquing the artwork. But that didn't stop NBA fans from theorizing what was going on in his mind during the ceremony.

Wade spent 15 seasons with the Heat, bringing three championships to South Beach in 2006, '12 and '13. He is the franchise's all-time leader in practically every notable category from points scored (21,556) to assists (5,310) to steals (1,492).

And now he has a statue to show for it. Even if it looks nothing like him.

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Tom Dierberger
TOM DIERBERGER

Tom Dierberger is a staff writer and editor on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in November 2023 after stints at FOX Sports, Bally Sports and NBC Sports. Dierberger has a bachelor's in communication from St. John's University. In his spare time, he can be seen throwing out his arm while playing fetch with his dog, Walter B. Boy.

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