Plenty of NBA fans and media talking heads alike criticized the appearance of Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade’s statue after it was unveiled to the public outside Kaseya Center in October of 2024. A common criticism of the tall bronze statue was that it didn’t even resemble the three-time NBA champion and 13-time All-Star.

Longtime Heat owner Micky Arison, who was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday, said that the statue doesn’t resemble Wade but that it doesn’t actually matter.

“If you look at a variety of different statues when you really focus in on their face, it’s hard in bronze really to get a good, good — but that’s what Dwyane wanted,” Arison said. “And Dwyane liked that. I mean, to me, only if you look at a certain angle does it look like Dwyane. If you look at it straight on, it definitely doesn’t look like Dwyane. But if he’s happy, I’m happy.”

Arison is someone who was fortunate enough to watch the entirety of Wade’s Heat stint up close and personal, as he has been serving as Miami’s team owner since all the way back in 1995. He was well into his stint as owner when the Heat drafted Wade with a top-five pick in the 2003 NBA Draft as well.

With his statue, Wade became the first Heat player to have his very own statue outside of the team’s arena. He might just be the most accomplished player to ever wear a Heat uniform, as he is the franchise’s all-time leading scorer and spent the overwhelming majority of his pro career in Miami.

All in all, regardless of what folks think of the aesthetic look of the Wade statue, the Heat legend is in rarified air for the fact that his contributions with the team are immortalized with his own personal statue.

Wade was more than deserving of a statue outside Kaseya Center, as he didn’t merely put up empty numbers during his Heat career. His production helped Miami capture a trio of championships between 2006 and 2013, though he didn’t win those titles on his own. He had help in the form of big man Shaquille O’Neal, forward LeBron James and big man Chris Bosh over those years.

Arison is valid in pointing out that other folks’ perceptions of the statue don’t matter so long as the person it was sculpted for appreciates it. The owner’s comments are a solid reminder of the notion that it’s the thought that counts.