Dwyane Wade Is Wowed at His Miami Heat Statue Unveiling: ‘This Is Out of Body’

A statue honoring Dwyane Wade has been unveiled – and it has a special connection to his late friend Kobe Bryant.

On Sunday, October 27, the Miami Heat legend (42) was honored with his statue at the Kaseya Center in Miami. The 8-foot bronze effigy honors Wade working the “this is my house” pose in March 2009 after a double-overtime victory against the Chicago Bulls, according to Miami Herald.

In a video shared on X (formerly Twitter) by Fox Sports reporter Rachel Nichols, Wade can be seen admiring the statue after it was unveiled. “This is out of body, everyone,” he said as the statue appeared.

“Like, it’s crazy,” he added during his speech after the unveiling, in awe of the sculpture that immortalized him. “I can’t believe it. Who is this guy?”

Dwyane Wade (left) and Kobe Bryant in 2008.

Stephen Dunn/Getty

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The statue was created by the sculptors of the Rotblatt Amrany Studio, Omri Amrany and Oscar León, according to Miami Herald. Among their works is the Kobe Bryant “Black Mamba” statue, along with the “Kobe and Gianna Bryant Memorial Statue.”

“Wade was very involved in what the statue would look like and he visited the sculptor several times,” Nichols said of the design process on X. “The Kobe statue was also being made in the same place, so Dwyane said it really hit him because he looked at both, that in front of him was more than metal, it was immortality.”

“He left very happy. Up until that last visit, he saw basically everything he wanted to see. We made all the adjustments he wanted,” León confirmed to 7 News Miami about the sculpture.

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Dwyane Wade speaks at his 2023 induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Mike Lawrie/Getty

Wade concluded his unveiling speech with a clever line to cement his legacy. “I believe I have given you something set in stone to hold on to,” he said, according to Miami Herald. “This is my house. I’m out.”

In February 2020, Wade spoke to PEOPLE about the legacy Bryant, who died in January 2020, was building after his basketball career. “The legacy he was building beyond that was to be there for the players, to be a voice for the next generation,” he said at the time.

“To practice with them, to be with them on the field, to be present in the lives of my children, to be a real all-star, a superstar parent. To be an amazing husband,” he added.

After Bryant’s death, Wade posted a video of himself crying, saying it was “one of the saddest days of my life.”

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Wade played for the Heat from 2003 to 2016 before moving to the Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers for one season each. He eventually returned to the Heat for one final season before retiring in 2019.

He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2023 and is considered one of the best shooting guards in NBA history.

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