Inside The Heat

Division Rival Pokes Fun At Infamous Dwyane Wade Statue

Sean Jordan

Oct 28, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; A general view of the new Dwyane Wade statue in front of the Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Rhona Wise-Imagn Images
Oct 28, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; A general view of the new Dwyane Wade statue in front of the Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Rhona Wise-Imagn Images / Rhona Wise-Imagn Images
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The Miami Heat lost Saturday's game against the Atlanta Hawks.

The Hawks pulled out all the stops during their victory at State Farm Arena. They showed the viral Dwyane Wade statue on the video board during Heat free throw attempts. The Hawks presented the statue to rally the crowd and rattle the players.

It was almost guaranteed Wade would be commemorated outside Kaseya Center after his legendary Heat career. However, the result was not what fans expected. The Heat unveiled the statue to commemorate Wade on Oct. 27 to immediate backlash. Social media unanimously agreed the statue looked nothing like the three-time NBA champion.

Wade took heat for the statue since its reveal to the public but he defended the art.

In an interview with ESPN shortly after the unveiling, Wade said, "If I wanted it to look like me, I'd just stand outside the arena and y'all can take photos. It don't need to look like me. It's the artistic version of a moment that happened that we're trying to cement."

The Hawks were not the only sports team to display the statue on their video board. Last month, the Columbia football team used the statue to distract the Yale kicker during a field goal attempt. The field goal was successful.

Given the Heat shot 94 percent from the charity stripe, it's safe to say the Hawks' way of trolling was unsuccessful.

Sean Jordan is a contributor to Miami Heat On Sports Illustrated. He can be reached at sjorda06@syr.edu.

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Sean Jordan
SEAN JORDAN