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‘Who the hell is that?’: Fans confused by Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade statue | Miami Heat
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‘Who the hell is that?’: Fans confused by Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade statue | Miami Heat

Dwyane Wade is now the first Miami Heat player to have a statue outside the team’s arena, although many of his fans aren’t sure it’s a fitting tribute.

The Heat unveiled the statue on Sunday, eight months after team president Pat Riley announced plans for the honor. Wade, a 13-time All-Star, is Miami’s all-time leading scorer, and he and Udonis Haslem are the only players to have played on all three Heat teams that won NBA championships.

“This is crazy,” Wade said at the unveiling. “I wanted to feel that. Life goes by so quickly and it is very rare that we feel anything because we are always on the way to the next thing. …I wanted to feel that, man. I wanted to check it out.”

Others were less enthusiastic about the statue, which bears only a passing resemblance to Wade, comparing it to an infamous depiction of Cristiano Ronaldo that drew widespread ridicule.

“Man, who the fuck is that??? “The Miami Heat did Dwyane Wade dirty with this statue,” one user wrote on social media.

Another referenced Wade’s move to the Chicago Bulls near the end of his career. “If Pat Riley doesn’t give you max money, you have to sign with the Bulls,” they wrote.

Others said the statue looked more like actor Laurence Fishburne than Wade.

Wade, a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, is one of six former Heat players to have his number retired by the team, along with Haslem, Chris Bosh, Tim Hardaway, Shaquille O’Neal and Alonzo Mourning.

“As the greatest player of all time in Miami Heat history, it’s his day, it’s his family’s day,” Riley said.

The statue is accompanied by a wall listing Wade’s professional achievements and was placed outside the front doors of the team arena. Wade is now part owner of the Utah Jazz and pursues many other business interests.

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