Dwyane Wade’s Statue Gets New Face After Original Was Mercilessly Mocked

Dwyane Wade; His new statueCredit: Chris Marion/NBAE via Getty; Miami Heat/XNEED TO KNOWDwyane Wade’s statue went back to the workshopThe statue at Kaseya Center now sports a more recognizable likeness of the Hall of FamerWhen it debuted in 2024, the statue was panned for its depiction of the playerTwo years after it was first unveiled, a widely panned statue of Dwyane Wade has undergone a facelift.On social media Friday, Oct. 30, the Miami Heat unveiled the 2.0 version of the Kaseya Center statue, which first debuted Oct. 27, 2024 to fiery pushback.In the new sculpture, Wade’s face has been transformed into a more familiar likeness — after critics hailed the first rendition as unrecognizable and unflattering.Wade, 44, told PEOPLE in 2024 that he was a fan of the statue.“It may be my likeness, but it will always be our house.” - @DwyaneWadeA closer look at the enhancements to his statue. pic.twitter.com/VmcBYsEzDK— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) October 30, 2026“I can’t believe it. That’s me back there in an artistic form,” he said at the time. “This is an artistic expression of a moment, one of the biggest moments of Miami Heat history, and I’m just in disbelief that I’m the one that’s chosen.”The 2024 version of Wade’s statue.Credit: Carmen Mandato/GettyBut he shared in an essay on Friday that he recognized the value in workshopping the work of art.“The 305 deserves to look at that statue and feel the same energy it felt that night,” Wade wrote, referring to Miami by its area code. “And the fans deserve to see themselves in that moment because their noise, their belief and their love were part of what made it possible.”He continued, “So we listened. We went back to work. And we made the adjustments. 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 statue was created by Rotblatt Amrany Studio’s Omri Amrany and Oscar León, sculptors whose work includes Kobe Bryant’s “Black Mamba” statue and the “Kobe and Gianna Bryant Memorial Statue.”Dwyane Wade at the unveiling of his statue in October 2024.Credit: Issac Baldizon/NBAE via GettyWhen the first version of the statue was unveiled, fans and pundits voiced generalized displeasure and confusion. And Charles Barkley was among them.“It’s a great honor but they gotta take that thing down,” Barkley said on Inside the NBA in 2024. “If you made an ugly statue that’s what it would look like. That thing is awful.”Barkley added, “The statue was so bad they had to put all his stats behind it so you know who it was.”Read the original article on People