Miami Heat Unveil Bronze Statue of Dwyane Wade Outside Kaseya Center

The Miami Heat unveiled a bronze statue of Dwyane Wade on the front steps of Kaseya Center on Sunday, honoring the most celebrated player in the franchise's 37 seasons. The sculpture captures the guard in the "This is my house!" pose that became one of the defining images of his career.

The pose comes from March 9, 2009, when the building was still called AmericanAirlines Arena. Wade scored 48 points that night and finished the double-overtime game with a steal and a buzzer-beating, game-winning 3-pointer against his hometown Chicago Bulls. He then climbed onto a courtside table opposite the Heat bench, pounded his hands against his chest and shouted the words that now define the statue, as team owner Micky Arison watched from below.

The statue stands along Biscayne Boulevard, close to Northeast 7th Street, which was renamed "Dwyane Wade Boulevard" in his honor in February 2021. The exact pose had been closely guarded, though there was little doubt about which moment would be chosen for the franchise's all-time leading scorer.

Wade, 42, took a deep breath after the unveiling and said he had few prepared remarks. "I wanted to feel this," he told the crowd. "Life goes by so fast." Gesturing to the 8-foot figure behind him, he added with a smile: "Like that's crazy. Who is that guy? This is out of body." He said he could not have written the script any better and called the day his "set-in-stone moment."

Several speakers joined the outdoor ceremony. Udonis Haslem, a former Heat captain and now a team executive, spoke about Wade's unwavering confidence and told him, "today, you're officially 305 for life." Heat President Pat Riley called Wade "the greatest player ever in Miami Heat history" and said it was his day. Wade's oldest child, Zaire Wade, said that "for me, he's a father first," as a tear fell from his father's eye. Heat center Bam Adebayo said Wade should have received the honor while still an active player.

The Heat will honor Wade again with a statue commemoration at halftime of Monday night's game against the visiting Detroit Pistons. The game falls 21 years to the day after Wade's NBA debut, an 18-point effort in a road loss to Allen Iverson and the Philadelphia 76ers. Wade went on to win the first of the franchise's three titles alongside Shaquille O'Neal in 2006, then won again in 2012 and 2013 with Big Three teammates LeBron James and Chris Bosh.

The statue adds Miami to a list of NBA cities with bronze tributes to their stars, including Boston, Los Angeles, Houston, San Antonio, Philadelphia, Utah, Atlanta, Minneapolis and Indianapolis. Wade's No. 3 already hangs in the Kaseya Center rafters, as does a banner for his gold medal with Team USA at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The Kaseya Center court was named for him four days before the ceremony.

The sculptors were Omri Amrany and Oscar León of Fine Art Studio Rotblatt Amrany, who also created the Michael Jordan statue outside Chicago's United Center.

Reflecting on his career, Wade said Miami embraced him and that he felt at home right away. "One word that comes around a lot is legacy," he said. "I believe I gave you guys something set in stone to believe in. This is my house."