Dwyane Wade Addresses Statue Snafu: “I Care, But I Don’t”

Dwyane Wade voiced his thoughts on his Miami Heat statue, which dramatically differs from public opinion. Shortly after the statue presentation on Sunday (Oct. 27), D-Wade spoke to the press at the Heat’s Kaseya Center, where he stated that he had heard the chatter about his statue, but he “didn’t care.” In fact, he sided with sculptors Oscar León and Omri Amrany from Timeless Creations and called the interpretation of the work an “artistic version of a moment.”

“If I wanted it to look like me, I’d just stand outside the arena and y’all can take photos,” Wade asserted, per ESPN. “It don’t need to look like me. It’s the artistic version of a moment that happened that we’re trying to cement.”

“I care, but I don’t,” No. 3 told the reporters regarding the viral backlash. “The social media world is about opinions. Everyone has an opinion. Everyone, use y’all opinions. Please talk more about us. Talk more about a statue, come on down to see it, take some photos, send some memes. We don’t care… I don’t know a lot of people with a statue. Do you? Anybody here, y’all know anything about the process of a statue? No one out there do neither. And so, it’s an unbelievable process to be a part of. And it’s a complicated process.”

The press conference also featured words from the artists themselves. Both León and Amrany detailed that Wade was heavily involved in the statue’s creation process and that, “At the end of the day, we want to do the best job possible with human hands.”

Wade’s commemorative statue embodies one of the player’s most iconic poses, drawing from his win against the Chicago Bulls in 2009. As the game ended, Wade relished his dominant performance and proclaimed, “This is my house!” to a roaring Miami crowd.

Watch the videos above.