The Miami Heat unveiled a statue of franchise legend Dwyane Wade outside Kaseya Center on Sunday.
The statue has been in the works for a while and was a way to honor Wade, who won three NBA titles with the Heat and is the franchise's all-time leading scorer. The statue is accompanied by a wall listing his career accomplishments.
Wade was thrilled to see the statue in person, but many were quick to note that the face didn't seem particularly accurate. Even Wade himself seemed to have a little fun with it.
"That's crazy. I can't believe that. Who is that guy?" he said.
Dwyane Wade’s statue.
— 𝙃𝙀𝘼𝙏 𝙉𝘼𝙏𝙄𝙊𝙉 (@HeatvsHaters) October 27, 2024
#3 forever immortalized in Miami. pic.twitter.com/aioXErJezy
Wade, who is officially the first Heat player with a statue outside the team's arena, seemed to take it in stride. But there were plenty of folks on Twitter who had stronger reactions to the appearance of Wade's face in the statue.
Three Faces of Man from ‘Power Play’ (1985), Judy Chicago, 📸 via @ohnohedidnt24 pic.twitter.com/DJ4chKIdzD
— ArtButMakeItSports (@ArtButSports) October 27, 2024
— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) October 27, 2024
When Pat Riley won’t give you max money so you have to sign with the Bulls pic.twitter.com/KaUE5Bu0Rs
— Zach Harper (@talkhoops) October 27, 2024
Miami Heat did Dwyane Wade dirty pic.twitter.com/ZRIPoNhxFA
— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) October 27, 2024
A statue is a huge honor and Wade deserves to be celebrated for everything he accomplished in Miami, but this didn't do him justice. However, Wade hasn't been the only one with less-than-flattering statues in recent years.
Here is a look at the five worst sports statues in recent history:
1. Cristiano Ronaldo
This statue, unveiled at Madeira Airport in March 2017, received a lot of criticism for being unflattering toward soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo. The sculptor behind it, Emanuel Santos, tried to redeem himself with another statue a year later and that one seems to have gotten better reviews.
Looks like they finally made Ronaldo a new statue 😂 https://t.co/IUAo52WiVk pic.twitter.com/oMYnVjWom9
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 27, 2017
2. Walter Johnson
This statue was supposed to represent one of the best pitchers in MLB history, Walter Johnson, while in motion, but the delivery didn't quite turn out as expected.
As published by the Washington Times, his grandson called the statue "hideous," "ridiculous," "not even close," and "awkward."
The Walter Johnson statue is so creative pic.twitter.com/WBMND2fOZE
— BaseballHistoryNut (@nut_history) September 25, 2024
3. Dwyane Wade
The face on the statue definitely shows a lot of emotion, but a lot of the comments regarding this one have been about how Wade looks significantly older and different in this sculpture.
DWYANE WADE STATUE 🔥
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 27, 2024
Miami Heat unveil D-Wade's statue outside Kaseya Center pic.twitter.com/5u5RD0vctA
4. Harry Caray
This one was dedicated to Harry Caray, one of the most well-known announcers in baseball history -- and the one who coined the term "Holy Cow!" Having a statue outside of Wrigley Field is quite an honor, but unfortunately the bottom of the statue gives a creepy ghost vibe.
A statue of former Chicago Cubs broadcaster Harry Caray sits outside the center field bleachers at Wrigley Field.
— Bad Spit (@BadSpit) September 9, 2024
The ghost-like faces at the bottom are meant to represent the club’s loyal fan base, but Caray looks as though he’s trudging through a thick bog of tortured souls. pic.twitter.com/CvvzP21IxY
5. Diego Maradona
The soccer legend was honored with this bronze sculpture in Kolkata, India. The 12-foot statue shows him holding the 1986 World Cup.
While this received criticism for not looking quite like Maradona, the footballer himself was just happy to have a statue there.
Diego Maradona is in India & a statue of him was unveiled at a charity event in Kolkata.
— GOLAZO (@golazoargentino) December 11, 2017
Good to see the chap that did the Ronaldo one is still in business pic.twitter.com/p5IDzgfExw