The Miami Heat has announced plans to commemorate the enduring legacy of basketball legend Dwyane Wade by unveiling a statue of him outside the Kaseya Center, the team’s home. The official ceremony for the statue unveiling is set to take place during halftime of a game against the Charlotte Hornets. This announcement follows Dwyane Wade’s induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame last year.
Miami Heat president Pat Riley expressed the significance of Wade’s legacy, emphasizing that when they retired his jersey in February 2020, he declared Wade as the perpetual face of the franchise. Riley highlighted Wade’s impact not only on the Miami Heat but also on Miami-Wade County. The decision to erect a statue is seen as a fitting tribute to memorialize Wade’s towering legacy.
Dwyane Wade, a 13-time All-Star, played a pivotal role in securing three NBA titles for the Miami Heat, earning NBA Finals MVP honors in 2006. As the all-time leading scorer in the history of the Miami Heat, Wade had his jersey retired in 2020 after spending the majority of his 16-season NBA career with the team.
The statue, set to be unveiled in the Fall of 2024, will be created by the same sculptors responsible for statues of other retired NBA stars such as Michael Jordan in Chicago and Shaquille O’Neal at LSU—Omri Amrany and Oscar León of Fine Art Studio Rotblatt Amrany.
