“Nightcap” podcast hosts Shannon Sharpe and Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson have sided with the critics blasting the controversial statue of NBA legend Dwyane Wade.
On Oct. 27, the Miami Heat franchise revealed the new eight-foot Dwyane Wade sculpture during a ceremony outside the Kaseya Center.
The monument was designed by Rotblatt Amrany Studio’s Omri Amrany and Oscar León, who also assisted with creating statues of Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.
Amrany and León drew inspiration for the D-Wade statue from his iconic “This is My House” celebration after he hit a game-winning, three-point shot against the Chicago Bulls in 2009.
Initially, Wade appeared to be confused when seeing the statue. At the unveiling ceremony, the Utah Jazz minority owner looked at the piece and said, “That’s crazy. I can’t believe that. Who is that guy?”
A recent episode of “Nightcap” featured Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson weighing in on the backlash directed at the Heat for their bronze statue.
Sharpe opened his commentary by suggesting the Rotblatt Amrany Studio sculptors should not design any future statues of Wade’s former Heat teammate LeBron James.
“I just need to know who keeps making these statues, so that way I can make sure he don’t touch GOAT James,” Shannon told Ochocinco.
Referring to the Wade statue, the former Denver Broncos tight end said, “I don’t know who the hell that is right there, Ocho. Man, who is that?!” further joking that the statue might be of Wade Sr.
Johnson added, “I don’t know who is responsible for that statue, but the face? How could you not just look at examples before you made that?”
“He must of built sandcastles as a kid ’cause ain’t no … man come on, Ocho,” who added, “it looked nothing like him. It was bad.”
Sharpe went on to congratulate Wade for getting memorialized in the city where he won three NBA championships, but he recommended the face of the statue should be replaced.
“That don’t look like D. Wade,” said Sharpe, who believes if the Miami Heat jersey was removed from the statue, no one would recognize it was Wade. “I guarantee you not one person would be able to tell you that’s D. Wade.”
Fans immediately slammed the Wade bust online. In particular, social media users criticized the NBA Hall of Famer’s face on the statue.
“How did that Dwayne Wade statue get approved? That’s the biggest question of the day. I mean, good lord. It’s bad. Really bad,” one person posted on X.
An even harsher critic tweeted, “That Dwyane Wade statue is a damn abomination. I could’ve made one out of Play-Doh that would look more realistic/accurate.”
Additionally, countless memes about the D-Wade monument spread across the internet. People compared the statue’s face to Thanos, The Mask, Morpheus, and other fictional characters.
Despite the backlash, Wade showed appreciation for the Kaseya Center statue and its creators. He spoke about the monumental accomplishment during a halftime speech at the Heat’s game versus the visiting Detroit Pistons on Oct. 28.
“A lot of thought, a lot of planning, with the Miami Heat organization and myself, and my team, and my family went into this statue,” the 13-time NBA All-Star said.
Wade continued, “Fine Art Studio did an amazing job of captivating exactly what I wanted to portray in an artistic form. It is not a human body that’s standing outside. That is art at its finest.”
That same day, Fine Art Studio co-founder Omri Amrany also discussed the highly mocked artwork and the public disdain directed at his creation.
“Some people will come with a goofy response or angry response. That’s not because of what the art is itself, but rather how it makes them feel. So, if this is my part of being a psychologist, fine,” Amrany explained to Front Office Sports.
In addition, Amrany pushed back on the narrative that Wade was disappointed when the statue was uncovered.
“He was very happy with the piece,” Amrany insisted about Wade’s immediate response. “He was joking when he turned around and said, ‘Who is this guy?’ It was like, ‘How did I get here where somebody made a sculpture for me?’ Some people took it like he didn’t recognize his own sculpture, which is completely the opposite.”
Regardless, Johnson added, “It wasn’t done well,” explaining to Sharpe that Amrany should “feel bad.”
Sharpe suggested a better artist like Blair Boswell, who specializes in sports sculptures and has created almost 100 of the Pro Football Hall of Fame sculptures, should have been chosen to do Wade’s sculpture.
Johnson said Wade’s statue is now tied with the statue of professional soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo, being two of the “worst” sculptures they’ve ever seen.
The Miami Heat really gave Dwayne Wade the old Cristiano statue to “honor” him😭 pic.twitter.com/fbJgy6dan3
— Chandler🤙🏼 (@ChannyMill) October 28, 2024
“That thing don’t look like you, bruh,” said Sharpe in the camera talking to Wade as Johnson followed up, “He know that!”
