It turns out, Dwyane Wade was heavily involved in the process.
The Heat gave Dwyane Wade full freedom to design his statue
The Heat wanted to make sure their first statue would be something everyone could be proud of, especially Wade. As part of his involvement in the project, the Heat let him have a say in just about every aspect of his tribute. From the photo that would inspire the artists all the way down to choosing the people responsible for turning that image into a work of art.
After weighing his options, Wade chose the “This is my house” photo from 2009. If it doesn’t ring any bells, it’s the pose that he used during a double-overtime victory against the Chicago Bulls. For the sculptors, he chose Studio Rotblatt-Amrany, the firm responsible for sculpting over 300 bronze statues which includes some of the most iconic sports statues in the United States.
This studio’s portfolio includes Michael Jordan’s statue outside the United Center, Dirk Nowitzki’s one-legged jumper in Dallas, and a suite of legends at Crypto.com Arena including Shaq, Kobe, Kareem, Magic, and more. For Wade’s statue specifically, the project was led by Oscar León and Omri Amrany. The company’s portfolio is pretty impressive, which is why expectations were sky-high for Wade’s statue.
Wade ‘claims’ he was hands-on in every stage of design process
To defend his statue, Wade claimed in that he was heavily involved in every stage of the statue’s creation. Wade would even share Instagram stories a few days later of how the face of his statue came to fruition. But in a later interview with Rachel Nichols on the day the statue was revealed, Wade claims he only visited the sculptors four times during the estimated 800 hours it allegedly took to complete the project. If he was really more involved, perhaps the final product would have been very different.
Amid the backlash, both León and Amrany were proud of their work. They even claimed that nobody else could have made Wade’s statue any better than what it already is. But judging from all the viral memes on social media, many would beg to differ.
In the end, not many people can proudly say that they have their own statue. While Wade’s statue was met with more criticism than praise, the statue serves as a permanent reminder of Wade’s impact on the Heat organization and the city of Miami.
