Dwyane Wade has seen the jokes and the criticism. He just doesn’t care.
The former Miami Heat star spoke Monday about the new statue depicting him outside the team’s arena in South Florida, which drew much condemnation and jokes after many thought it looked nothing like him once he It was presented on Sunday.
“I care, but I don’t care,” Wade said, via The Associated Press. “The world of social media is all about opinions. Everyone has an opinion. Everyone, use your opinions. Please tell more about us. Talk more about a statue, go down and see it, take some photos, send some memes. “We don’t care.”
Wade spent almost his entire Hall of Fame career with the Heat, whom he helped win three NBA titles. He remains the team’s all-time leading scorer and is the first player in franchise history to earn a statue.
Even though it doesn’t really look like him, especially in the face, Wade loves it.
Why can’t we get statues of people… that look like the people they’re supposed to represent? Nobody sees Dwyane Wade here. pic.twitter.com/AMc36O7hVU
—Charles Robinson (@CharlesRobinson) October 27, 2024
“If I wanted him to look like me, I would just stand outside the arena and you all could take pictures,” he said. “You don’t have to look like me. It is the artistic version of a moment that happened and that we are trying to cement.”
Wade was directly involved in the creation of the statue, which took about 800 hours to complete. The moment was taken from a game against the Chicago Bulls in 2009, after Wade blew the buzzer to lead the Heat to victory in double overtime.
Although he was quick to defend the artists who made him the statue, he knows they just have to laugh, ignore the criticism and move on.
“I don’t know many people who have a statue. Do you?” he said. “Does anyone here know anything about the process of a statue? Nobody out there does either. So, to be part of an incredible process. And it’s a complicated process.”