*Dwyane Wade has reacted to the criticism around his newly unveiled Miami Heat statue commemorating his legacy.
The artist behind the sculpture also defended the design that was unveiled by the Miami Heat outside the Kaseya Center on Sunday. Per ABC News, the statue depicts Wade’s “This is my house” moment following a game-winning double-overtime shot against the Chicago Bulls in 2019. It was D. Wade’s idea to immortalize that pose in a statue.
“What I feel when it comes to a statue, when it comes to this kind of moment, I feel that it has to be something that when the fans think of you, when they think of your career, when they think of your life … what’s the first thing that comes to mind?” Wade, who spent 13 seasons with the Miami Heat, told reporters Sunday after a 7-foot-3 bronze statue was unveiled.
“And so if you’re a fan of myself, if you’re a fan of the Heat, I’ve had a lot of moments — I think there’s none bigger than that one. You know what I mean, like, ‘This is my house’ moment is the biggest moment of my individual career. And this was an individual moment for me, to pick that.”
Wade’s sculpture received mixed reactions from many fans who don’t believe it looks like him, some noted that it looks more like Laurence Fishburne. One person on X wrote, “Did the Heat even look at this statue before unveiling it???.”
Dwyane Wade responds to the polarizing reactions to the statue. He talks about the process of the statue and even mentions the memes he’s seen that resemble him to Laurence Fisburbe. #HeatNation
“Yeah, I have an iPhone…I care, but I don’t…” pic.twitter.com/Y05Vw0YjpW
— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) October 28, 2024
“If I wanted it to look like me, I’d just stand outside the arena and y’all can take photos,” Wade said in response to the criticism, according to ESPN. “It don’t need to look like me. It’s the artistic version of a moment that happened that we’re trying to cement.”
During the news conference after the statue’s unveiling, Wade shared his initial reaction to the monument. “I was just like, ‘That’s beautiful,’” he said, the Miami Herald reports. “I’m biased, but I think it’s one of the best statues that’s been created because of what it represents for us and for me.”
According to ESPN, Wade said of the viral hate for his statue: “I care, but I don’t. The social media world is about opinions. Everyone has an opinion. Everyone, use y’all opinions. Please talk more about us. Talk more about a statue, come on down to see it, take some photos, send some memes. We don’t care.”
Wade also defended the sculptors who worked on the statue for 800 hours.
“I don’t know a lot of people with a statue. Do you?” he asked during the press conference. “Anybody here, y’all know anything about the process of a statue? No one out there do neither. And so, it’s an unbelievable process to be a part of. And it’s a complicated process.”
I am calling for a complete and total shutdown on building new statues until we figure out what the hell is going on https://t.co/QnNX6THB9O
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) October 28, 2024
Sculptor Omri Amrany, who collaborated with Oscar Léon on the Wade statue, said the reactions to his work have become somewhat anticipated. Amrany’s Chicago-based studio has produced over 300 sculptures globally, including the Kobe Bryant statue in his No. 8 jersey and a sculpture featuring Bryant with his daughter Gianna located at Crypto.com Arena.
“Every time you unveil a sculpture there are people with different comments,” Amrany told The Los Angeles Times. “It’s natural. Art that does not [evoke] response is the most boring art that you can have.”
He added: “We had the same thing with Kobe No. 8. After we unveiled the piece, we got very nasty messages from different people. You know, it’s their right to express the way they want, and if I’m acting as a psychologist for their frustration, so be it.”
READ MORE FROM EURWEB.COM: Fans Criticize Dwyane Wade’s Miami Heat Statue: ‘It Looks Nothing Like Him’
