Photo Credit: Lev Radin/Shutterstock.comThe Miami HEAT is celebrating NBA legend Dwyane Wade in a big way: by unveiling a statue of him in front of the Kaseya Center.
“When we retired his jersey in February 2020, I said Dwyane was the face of this franchise forever and I meant it,” said HEAT President Pat Riley. “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.”
Sculptors Omri Amrany and Oscar León of Fine Art Studio Rotblatt Amrany have been commissioned to create the Wade statue, which will be unveiled this fall. Amrany’s works of retired NBA stars include the iconic “Michael Jordan Spirit” in Chicago, as well as statues of Shaquille O’Neal, Dirk Nowitzki and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar among many others. León’s works include a bronze of baseball Hall of Famer Nellie Fox as well as several commercial installations.
Photo Credit: Metellus Studios
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee’s post-basketball career continues to thrive. His business empire includes many and varied projects in the entertainment, culinary, and retail industries. He is a New York Times best-selling author and a renowned fashion afficionado. Through his Wade Family Foundation and Social Change Fund United, Wade has long established himself as a champion of underserved communities, disadvantaged backgrounds, racial justice and LGBTQ equality.
Wade’s basketball career spanned 16 seasons—15 of them played in Miami—as he accumulated three NBA Championships, a NBA Finals MVP, a NBA All-Star MVP, 13 All-Star selections, two All-NBA First Team selections, three All-NBA Second Team selections, three All-NBA Third Team selections, three All-Defensive Second Team selections, a unanimous All-Rookie Team First Team selection, a gold and bronze medal with Team USA, 19 Player of the Week honors, six Player of the Month awards, four Community Assist Monthly Awards, one Yearly Community Assist Award, and was a Magic Johnson Award winner which recognizes excellence on the court and cooperation and dignity with the media and public. Wade appeared in 1,054 career regular season games (909 starts) and averaged 22.0 points, 5.4 assists, 4.7 rebounds, 1.54 steals and 33.9 minutes while shooting 48 percent from the field, finishing his career as one of only three players in NBA history to total at least 20,000 points, 5,000 assists, 4,000 rebounds, 1,500 steals, 800 blocks and 500 three-point field goals made, joining LeBron James and Michael Jordan. He scored at least 1,000 points against 10 different franchises and led the HEAT in points and scoring average for six consecutive years (2004-10), becoming the only player in franchise history to lead in each of those categories six-straight seasons. He capped his career scoring in double-figures 970 times, including 628 20-point games, 220 30-point efforts, 34 40-point games and three 50-point performances. On August 12, 2023, Wade was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
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