by Monday turned out to be rather positive for the Miami Heat (2-1), who also celebrated the best player in franchise history and moved to over .500 thanks to their 106-98 victory over the Detroit Visiting Pistons (0-4).
Before we recap the latter in full, we’ll pause for the bronze elephant in the room: the recently unveiled Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade statue. The 2006 NBA Finals MVP, who was flooded with MVP chants during a halftime ceremony celebrating his statue and the Miami street intersection dedicated to his name, became only the 15th player in history of the NBA to have a statue outside an NBA arena. He joins Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Los Angeles Lakers), Kobe Bryant (Lakers), Magic Johnson (Lakers), Shaquille O’Neal (Lakers), Wilt Chamberlain (Philadelphia 76ers), Dominique. Wilkins (Atlanta Hawks) and Dirk Nowitzki (Dallas Mavericks).
Around the team
Wade is in on the jokes but isn’t at all interested in dimming his light. A day after the Heat legend was honored with his statue in front of the Kaseya Center, the three-time NBA champion stayed in the moment and reflected on his gratitude for the whole situation. Not all publicity is necessarily good publicity, but it’s hard to credibly dislike someone being celebrated with a statue because… well, those are very rare?
“I don’t know a lot of people who own a statue,” he said before Monday’s game. “Do you? Anyone here? Do you all know anything about the process of making a statue? It’s an incredible process to be a part of. It’s a complicated process. When I was sitting with the Miami Heat, what we wanted to do was capture a moment that represented the organization, represented me and represented the city I feel like we captured that moment in an artistic form – in an artistic way. .If I wanted it to look like me, I would just stand outside the arena and you all would take pictures.
And, to be fair to Wade, he took the social media comments just fine, because it’s hard to pass up a good laugh. Beyond the unveiling itself, the 42-year-old remained grateful for how his basketball career continues to be etched in immortality. The jokes are current, but the statues are literally eternal (unless they melt somehow, of course).
“I appreciate everyone’s comments because I’m in on the joke, guys,” Wade said. “Like, I laugh all the time. I’m cool. I saw some memes today that were like, “Okay, I have a little Laurence Fishburne jawline.” I mean, my jaw is covered in this beard – you can’t see it. I don’t have a beard at this point, so you all could see a little more of my jawline.
Tbh, Dwyane Wade statue looks more like Laurence Fishburne pic.twitter.com/CHOH4F1ktQ
– Joel Rush (@JoelRushNBA) October 27, 2024
While Wade balanced perspective and laughter, he also wanted to express his gratitude for the work done by sculptors Omri Amrany and Oscar León of Rotblatt Amrany Studio. Amrany is also recognized for sculpting statues for Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.
“The Fine Arts Studios family has done an incredible job,” Wade said. “And I hate it for them because they’re in a different world, you know, in terms of the work that they do and what they create. And every time they create something, someone has to come out and say something about their creation, who can’t do what they do. And so, I know how they feel because people talked about me a lot, but they couldn’t do what I do. So, you know, you learn to laugh, look at things, learn from them and move on. So it’s okay.
On Sunday, many fans took the opportunity to point out how out of place the new Dwyane Wade statue was.
But for sculptor Omri Amrany, who co-created the Wade statue, the criticism doesn’t bite.https://t.co/U4pOaWmWQA pic.twitter.com/VL27LVIaKA
– Reception Sports (@FOS) October 28, 2024
Result of the game: Heat 106, Pistons 98
- The most efficient heat: Jimmy Butler (team-high 23 points, four rebounds, seven assists, four steals, zero turnovers), Terry Rozier (20 points, 5-12 3-pt FG, five rebounds, three assists, one steal) , Bam Adebayo (12 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, three steals, three blocks)
- Best performing pistons: Cade Cunningham (24 points, eight rebounds, six assists, two steals), Jaden Ivey (18 points, 5-9 3-pt FG, four rebounds, one assist, two steals), Tim Hardaway Jr. (20 points, 3-6 3-pt FG, one assist; average of 10.7 points in first three games)
- Key stage of the game: Could an entire quarter be considered a stretch? Let’s note the last frame of Monday as the key to Miami’s victory. During the fourth quarter, Miami committed a turnover while forcing Cunningham into three turnovers and 2 of 8 shooting. On offense, seven Heat players scored in the fourth quarter while the Pistons shot just 27, 3 percent (6 of 22) to close the match.
What the Heat are saying
- Jimmy Butler (on the team that finds balance on offense): “I’m not going to walk away from my game because of the way people would like our organization to play. I have to be on the attack. I’ve got to find my guys, I’ve got to keep the defensive end with the ball, and it’s going to look like what it looked like tonight.
- Jimmy Butler (on the team’s aggressiveness during steals): “I love him. Bet… you just have to get, like, four out of six. You can screw up two. Spo (coach Erik Spoelstra) will probably get mad, but if you get four out of six, he can’t to be too angry. I want all the game in the world. That’s what I do. I want everyone to follow suit.
- Terry Rozier (on his development alongside Tyler Herro): “It’s just a lot of fun. We say it all the time: you just pick your poison. We’re two unselfish guys looking for our shot, looking for our teammate’s shot. With our presenters, Bam [Adebayo] and Jimmy, we’re just trying to put everything together. And once we do that, it’s going to be difficult.
- Tyler Herro (on why Miami sealed the win): “I just make saves. I think the most important thing right now is trying to find an identity at this point in the season – it’s very early. We can hang our hat on the defensive end whether the shots fall or not. I still thought it was an effective evening in terms of the shot regime and the profile we want. It is [about] keep getting more 3s and layups, and the shots will fall.
Next Heat game: Tuesday vs. New York Knicks, 7:30 p.m. ET
(Top photo: Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
