Dwyane Wade's statue being unveiled by Miami Heat: Date, venue & more
Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade, who won three championships with the Miami Heat in his career, is set to have his statue unveiled next month. Longtime Miami Heat beat writer Ira Winderman announced that between the Heat's Oct. 26 game (vs. Charlotte Hornets) and Oct. 28 game (vs. Detroit Pistons), the team would unveil the statue.
The exact date for the event is Oct. 27, and the ceremony will take place at the Kaseya Center. NBA.com has informed that the unveiling will take place during a two-day celebration honoring the three-time champ and Hall of Famer. Things will kick off at 5 p.m. local time on Sunday, Oct. 27.
The Heat have pulled out all the stops for the first night of the event, with a slew of high-profile guests. Miami managing general partner Micky Arison, Heat CEO Nick Arison, longtime president Pat Riley, and, of course, coach Erik Spoelstra will all be in attendance. The current Miami Heat roster will be there too.
The following day, the franchise will hold Dwyane Wade Statue Night, 22 years to the day that the legend made his debut as a member of the Miami Heat, in 2003. Throughout the night, a number of tributes will air in the arena, and on the televised broadcast.
In addition, Wade is set to address the crowd during halftime, at which time there will be a presentation honoring the Miami legend.
"Just special" - Dwyane Wade reacts to news of statue outside of Kaseya Center in Miami
While the statue unveiling will take place on Oct. 27, the announcement that Wade would receive a statue outside of Kaseya Center in Miami was made back in January.
At the time, the Heat were in the midst of a tribute to Wade, when they dropped the news on the 13-time All-Star that he would be immortalized with a statue. The news caught Wade off guard as he explained to media members later that night.
As a kid growing up in Chicago, Wade was well aware of the iconic Michael Jordan statue outside of Chicago's United Center. However, he never dreamed that one day, he would have a statue of his own. As he spoke to media members, he opened by explaining the magnitude of the moment:
"I know that the same feeling I had when Jordan had his statue is the same feeling that young kids will have coming and getting an opportunity to visit mine.
"Families will have (the same opportunity) to be able to create memories and moments in front of this Arena, so man, just special. And I can't dream big enough because a lot of these things I just never knew was possible for me, but I'm super honored."
After an injury to Jimmy Butler ended the Heat's championship hopes at the start of the postseason, the team will look to bounce back in a big way this season. They will certainly have the example of Dwayne Wade in their minds.