When the Miami Heat unveiled their statue outside Kaseya Center to honor Dwyane Wade, sculptor artist Omri Amrany seemed to know that there would be a mixed reaction.
But hey, at least he’s happy with how the final product turned out.
From the moment of the unveiling, the statue was largely mocked because, well, it looked nothing like Wade. On top of that, Wade’s immediate reaction on stage only added to the awkwardness. It got to the point where fans compared the statue to the since-replaced Cristiano Ronaldo statue in Portugal.
Amid calls for the statue to get replaced with something better, Amrany claimed that nobody could have done a better job than he did.
Sculpture artist Omri Amrany on any negative reaction to Dwyane Wade statue:
“I couldn’t do better than that. I don’t think anybody else can do better than that. It is what it is, and we will love it forever.”
Encourages people to come see it. Both artists very proud of it. pic.twitter.com/coSZY5yC2u
— Will Manso (@WillManso) October 28, 2024
I mean, you kind of have to respect the confidence, and there’s no denying a lot of work went into the statue. But it simply did not look like Wade.
As for Wade’s awkward reaction, Amrany said that Wade frequently visited the studio and had a say throughout the entire process.
