One of the sculptors of Dwyane Wade’s new Miami Heat statue said critics might’ve misunderstood the bronze creation.
Oscar León of Rotblatt Amrany Studio, who sculpted the statue alongside Omri Amrany, directly addressed negative reactions, including many that believe it looks nothing like the Miami Heat legend.
“To the critics, there’s a lot that needs to be understood,” León told NBC News. “We have to seal everything to keep the integrity of the sculpture. However, that does create a funny little side effect of being glossy in areas that we are not used to seeing when we look at somebody in the flesh.”
“The sealer definitely creates a little bit of, um, a misunderstanding to the eye. So, I would definitely encourage everyone to come to Miami and view it in person.”
Wade’s statue, which the Heat unveiled in front of Kaseya Center on Sunday, was first made with clay before it was coated in bronze.
Wade, who previously said he was heavily involved in the making of the statue, chose an iconic moment from his Heat career that the statue commemorates.
It was his triumphant celebration after he hit a one-legged game-winning three-pointer as time expired to break a 127-127 score against the Bulls in double overtime on March 9, 2009.
Wade, who finished with 48 points, six rebounds, 12 assists, four steals and three blocks, jumped on the scorer’s table and yelled, “This is my house!” while pointing his both index fingers downward.
León told NBC News it started with a collection of photos of Wade that were turned into a clay model, and then computers assisted in designing the statue.
The sculptors also received feedback from Wade’s closest friends, as well as Miami Heat executives during the months-long design process.
Wade traveled to Chicago to meet with the sculptors on multiple occasions.
León added that more than 800 hours went into creating the statue — and he spent 16 additional hours consulting with Wade.
Fox Sports 1 personality Rachel Nichols said Wade told her that he made the sculptors measure his face after the ratio was off in the distance between the bottom of his nose and his lip.
Wade responded after a wave of attention from his statue.
“If I wanted it to look like me, I’d just stand outside the arena and y’all can take photos,” he said on Monday. “It don’t need to look like me. It’s the artistic version of a moment that happened that we’re trying to cement.”
Wade was the fifth overall pick by the Heat in the 2003 NBA draft and went on to win three championships with Miami.
The Hall of Fame guard, whose No. 3 jersey was retired by the Heat in 2020, is the all-time leader in points, assists, steals and games played for the Heat.
