Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade's bronze statue outside the Kaseya Center has been updated with a new facial likeness following widespread criticism of the original sculpture unveiled in 2024.
The franchise announced the revised statue on October 30, 2026, with sculptors enhancing Wade's face to be more lifelike after the initial version drew online jokes and negative reactions.
Wade, the Heat's all-time leading scorer, three-time NBA champion, 13-time All-Star and Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, addressed the update in a Substack post. He acknowledged hearing the jokes and seeing the memes, but defended the original work while accepting the changes because the statue "also belongs to Miami."
"So we listened. We went back to work. And we made the adjustments," Wade wrote. "I hope when people see it now, they see a better likeness of me. But more than that, I hope they see themselves. Because it may be my likeness, but it will always be our house."
The statue commemorates Wade's iconic moment after hitting a game-winning shot against the Chicago Bulls in double overtime during the 2009 season, when he stood on a courtside table and declared, "This is my house." The original statue debuted on the 21st anniversary of Wade's first game with the Heat.
At the initial unveiling, Wade downplayed the criticism, saying, "If I wanted it to look like me, I'd just stand outside the arena and y'all can take photos. It don't need to look like me. It's the artistic version of a moment that happened that we're trying to cement." He expressed pride in being among the few players honored with a statue outside an NBA arena.
