Rhona Wise-Imagn Images/Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Dwyane Wade statue next to the actual Dwyane Wade
It’s been a couple of years since a statue of Dwyane Wade was unveiled outside the arena where the Heat play, which was roundly derided by fans who pointed out that it didn’t really look like the man who spent 15 seasons with the team. It took a while, but the same can’t be said about the updated version that does a much better job of capturing his likeness.
There isn’t a single person who’s played for the Miami Heat who’s left behind a more impressive legacy than Dwyane Wade, the guard who spent the overwhelming majority of his 16-year NBA career with the team that drafted him with the fifth overall pick in 2004.
As things currently stand, Wade is the franchise leader in virtually every major statistical category. The 13-time All-Star led the Heat to their first-ever title in 2006 (a run where he earned Finals MVP), and he added two more rings to his collection after forming the “Big Three” with LeBron James and Chris Bosh.
Wade opted to retire after the 2019 campaign, and his #3 was raised into the rafters when Miami honored him by retiring it in 2020.
He was also honored with a statue outside of the Kaseya Center in 2024, and that monument has been subjected to a facelift after the initial version left a bit to be desired.
The sculptors who made a Dwyane Wade statue for the Heat overhauled the head to make it actually look like the Hall of Famer
On March 9, 2009, Wade hit an iconic buzzer-beater to seal a double-overtime victory over the Bulls before jumping on a table to emphatically declare “THIS IS MY HOUSE!”
That moment served as the inspiration for the sculpture that was unveiled outside said house on October 27, 2024, but he was one of the many people who were less than impressed with its ability to reflect what he actually looks like.
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The statue was made by Rotblatt Amrany sculptors Omri Amrany and Oscar Leon, the former of whom also had a role in a Michael Jordan sculpture inside the United Center and those honoring a number of Lakers legends (including Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Magic Johnson) outside their arena in Los Angeles.
Amrany initially defended the portrayal, but according to The Athletic, the duo recently admitted they could have done better in a statement, saying:
“After seeing the work at full scale and in its permanent environment, we identified opportunities to strengthen the portrait.
We decided that the importance of Dwyane warranted making those refinements rather than accepting something we believed could be improved.”
Wade shed some light on the process that went into updating it in a Substack post where he said he felt like the head needed to be changed in order to truly capture the essence of what he and Heat fans experienced when he hit the aforementioned buzzer-beater, saying:
“I want them to see the emotion, confidence, joy, and connection behind ‘This Is My House.’ I want the people who were inside the arena that night to remember exactly where they were and how it felt…
If people don’t feel that connection when they look at the face, why wouldn’t we try to make it better?”
On Friday, the Heat provided us with our first look at the new head, and it’s certainly a big improvement.
“It may be my likeness, but it will always be our house.” – @DwyaneWade
A closer look at the enhancements to his statue. https://t.co/VmcBYsEzDK
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) October 30, 2026
This isn’t the first time an artist who tried (and failed) to capture an athlete’s likeness opted for a do-over, as the one responsible for a fairly infamous bust of Cristiano Ronaldo also went back to the drawing board.