Dwyane Wade’s bronze figure outside the Kaseya Center has already had a second act.
The Miami Heat revealed an updated version of the statue this week, giving Wade’s likeness a facelift after the original 2024 unveiling drew plenty of online mockery and criticism. The new version keeps the same tribute in place, but sculptors reworked Wade’s face to make it look more lifelike.
Wade embraced the refresh on Substack, saying he "heard the jokes" and "saw the memes" when the statue first went up. He stood by the original piece, but made clear he was fine with the changes because the statue "also belongs to Miami."
"So we listened. We went back to work.
And we made the adjustments," Wade wrote. "I hope when people see it now, they see a better likeness of me.
But more than that, I hope they see themselves. Because it may be my likeness, but it will always be our house."
The Heat also highlighted the updated look with a post that included Wade’s line: “It may be my likeness, but it will always be our house.”
Wade had already brushed off the backlash after the first unveiling. "If I wanted it to look like me, I'd just stand outside the arena and y'all can take photos," Wade said.
"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 statue honors the moment after Wade’s game-winning shot to beat the Chicago Bulls in double overtime during the 2009 season, when he climbed onto a courtside table and yelled, "This is my house" to a capacity crowd.
The original statue debuted outside the arena on the 21st anniversary of Wade’s first game with the Heat.
Wade’s place in franchise history is already sealed. He is the Heat’s all-time leading scorer, won three NBA championships with Miami, made 13 All-Star teams and is in the Basketball Hall of Fame. His No. 3 jersey is retired by the team.
When the statue first arrived, Wade said he understood the significance of the honor and appreciated the rare company he was joining.
"There's only a few organizations that have a statue outside," Wade said, thanking the organization. "There's not even 15 players who played this game of basketball that have a statue outside.
We -- we -- have a statue outside. So, for me to be the vessel that's used, to be the chosen one, I'm proud of it.
"I'm proud because we worked very, very, very hard to create an image that will stand for a very long time that expresses what the Miami Heat my family and our fan base is about. So, don't let nobody talk about our house.
Because this is our house. They're on the outside.
Leave them out there."
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