Miami Heat building Dwyane Wade statue outside arena next season

Dwyane Wade’s 15 seasons with the Miami Heat had already made a lasting change on the franchise’s winning culture. Now, a statue in his honor outside Kaseya Center will cement that impact as a token of his legacy for generations to come.

Wade, a 2023 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, was back in Miami on Sunday to be celebrated by his longtime franchise. But the evening got even more special during the halftime ceremony when team president Pat Riley told Wade “next year, there will be a statue eight feet tall” outside the arena. Riley joked that the organization wanted to make sure the statue would be taller than Shaquille O’Neal, Wade’s Hall of Fame teammate who helped bring Miami its first championship in 2005-06.

Wade’s statue, which Riley said will come in the fall of 2024, will be the first in Heat history. “Flash” was moved to tears by the honor.

After spending the first 13 years of his career with the Heat, Wade left in 2016 for a stint with his hometown Chicago Bulls before spending the first half of 2017-18 with the Cleveland Cavaliers. But at the 2018 trade deadline, Miami reacquired Wade after he and Riley mended their relationship at the funeral of Wade’s agent.

He received a standing ovation in his first game back and years later his No. 3 was hung in the arena rafters after the guard was honored with a jersey retirement in 2020.

Wade ranks first in Heat franchise history in games played, points, assists, steals, field goals and free throws. He played an integral role in all three of Miami’s championships, being named Finals MVP in 2006 and co-star to LeBron James in 2011-12 and 2012-13.

A 13-time All Star, Wade was named to the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team.

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(Photo: Megan Briggs / Getty Images)