Charles Barkley roasts Dwyane Wade's 'ugly statue' by Miami Heat: That thing is awful"
The Miami Heat revealed Dwyane Wade's statue outside Kaseya Center on Sunday night, and it instantly went viral. The statue faced immense criticism due to its poor resemblance to the Hall of Famer.
Charles Barkley was one of the statue's many critics. The NBA on TNT analyst didn't hold back when offering his opinion on the statue on Tuesday's show.
"It's a great honor, but they've got to take that thing down. If you made an ugly statue that's what it would look like. That thing's awful. The statue was so bad they had to put his stats behind it so you could see who it was."
While it's safe to say Barkley wasn't a fan, his NBA on TNT co-host Kenny Smith defended the statue's likeness.
Wade spent 15 seasons with the Miami Heat, helping the team to all three championships in Heat history. His statue is modeled after his game-winning three-pointer versus the Chicago Bulls on March 9, 2009, in which Wade stood on the scorer's table and yelled, "This is my house!"
Dwyane Wade, statue artist defend Heat legend's likeness
One of the statue's sculptors, Oscar Leon, defended the statue's likeness from its vast criticisms. On Tuesday afternoon, Leon noted that his team of sculptors worked closely with Wade and received input from his friends and Heat front office members.
"To the critics, there's a lot that needs to be understood. We have to seal everything to keep the integrity of the sculpture. However, that does create a funny little side effect of being glossy in areas we're not used to seeing when we look at somebody in the flesh," Leon said per NBC South Florida.
Dwyane Wade also defended the sculpture, sharing his confidence in the final product.
"I felt good about it. I picked that because I wanted to make sure that every fan when they see it, they remember my career and I think that sums up my career and this building."
Dwyane Wade is the greatest player in Miami Heat history, holding the franchise record for points, assists, steals, games played, minutes played, and field goals.