Dwyane Wade is the greatest Miami Heat player ever. There have been better individual players — LeBron James, Shaquille O’Neal — but nobody has mattered more to the Heat franchise, and no player has been there for all the titles, other than Dwyane Wade.
He deserves a statue, and he’s getting one outside the Kaseya Center on Oct. 27, with a halftime ceremony the following night during the Pistons game to celebrate it.
” When we retired his jersey in February 2020, I said Dwyane was the face of this franchise forever and I meant it,” Heat President Pat Riley said in a statement. “Dwyane’s legacy is a towering one not only for the Miami HEAT but for Miami-Wade County. I can’t think of a better way to honor him than by memorializing that legacy.”
The statue — designed by Omri Amrany and Oscar León of Fine Art Studio Rotblatt Amrany — will be unveiled in a ceremony that will not only include Riley, coach Erik Spoelstra and other Heat legends, but will include a performance by Rick Ross. If you live in Miami, the event will be free to attend but space is limited and must be reserved.
The following night, Oct. 28, will be 21 years to the day that Wade made his NBA debut, and it will be “Dwyane Wade Statue Night” with a halftime ceremony in a game against the Pistons. Wade will address the crowd that night.
Wade played 15 seasons with the Heat and was an internal part of all three franchise championships. Wade holds the Heat record for points scored, games played, assists, steals, total shot attempts and shots made, plus free throws attempted and made. He also was an eight-time All-NBA player, a 13-time All-Star, three-time All-Defensive Team member and the 2006 Finals MVP. He’s a Hall of Fame for good reason.
And he’s getting a statue in Miami for good reason as well.