The Miami Heat will build a bronze Dwyane Wade statue outside of the Kaseya Center. The unveiling ceremony is scheduled for the Fall of 2024.
“When we retired his jersey in February 2020, I said Dwyane was the face of this franchise forever and I meant it,” Heat President Pat Riley said in a statement. “Dwyane’s legacy is a towering one not only for the Miami Heat but for Miami-Wade County. I can’t think of a better way to honor him than by memorializing that legacy.”
Wade is the greatest player in Heat franchise history. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2023 and his No. 3 jersey hangs in the rafters at the Kaseya Center.
The Heat drafted Wade with the fifth overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft out of Marquette. Wade spent the first 13 years of his career in Miami. He averaged 23.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1.7 steals and 0.9 blocks and made 12 All-Star teams, eight All-NBA teams and three All-Defensive teams.
Wade won three championships with the Heat. The first title came in 2006. Miami defeated the Dallas Mavericks, with Wade winning Finals MVP. The other two rings came in 2012 and 2013 when Wade was teammates with LeBron James and Chris Bosh.
In the summer of 2016, Wade left the Heat and signed with his hometown Chicago Bulls since Riley didn’t offer him a contract he liked. Wade spent one season with the Bulls before signing with the Cleveland Cavaliers in September 2017 to reunite with LeBron.
Wade only played 46 games with the Cavaliers before getting traded to the Heat in February 2018. The Illinois native re-signed with Miami in the summer of 2018 and retired from the NBA after the 2018-19 season.
Wade finished his Heat career with averages of 22.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 1.6 steals and 0.9 blocks in 948 games. He’s Miami’s all-time leader in games, minutes, field goals, free throws, assists, steals, points, offensive win shares, defensive win shares, win shares and value over replacement player.
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