Minutes Before Pat Riley’s Statue Announcement, Jimmy Butler and Other Heat Stars Ponder Upon Dwyane Wade’s Greatness

The Miami Heat had a starry night amid its clash against the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday night. During halftime, the management celebrated Dwyane Wade’s Hall of Fame night. And, Pat Riley made a big announcement on the unveiling of Wade’s statue outside the Kaseya Arena in the fall. However, moments before the announcement, the 2023-24′ batch of the Heat roster had an important message to the 3x NBA Champion.

Dwyane Wade had his Hall of Fame induction in the 2023 NBA offseason and the hangover is not over at Miami. Heat president Pat Riley’s presence made it even more special for the 41-year-old. Moreover, he became the first-ever Heat player to have a statue outside the arena. Possibly, the highest honor a sportsperson can ever have.

Jimmy Butler & Co celebrate the man, Dwyane Wade

Ahead of Pat Riley’s statue announcement, the current Heat roster appeared on the big screen, talking directly to the Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade, and congratulating him on his achievement.

The players sat in front of #3 jerseys and expressed their thoughts on Wade’s achievements. Rookie Jaime Jaquez, Jr also shared his two cents on the influence that D-Wade left on the youth. He added, “You’ve impacted me and many many other kids in my generation to become basketball players.” Similarly, every single player dropped their wishes to the 41-year-old.

However, Jimmy Butler had something more to offer as he shared a few emotional words. He said, “I’m glad that I was a tiny piece of that journey and I was able to you know pick your brain about basketball about being a father a role model a businessman all of the above.” 

While the players left an emotional tint with their video clip ahead of the announcement, Pat Riley took it a notch further with his words.

He said, “When we retired his jersey in February 2020, I said Dwyane was the face of this franchise forever, and I meant it,” making it even merrier.

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DWade on Butler’s future

While Wade has been reaping the benefits of his illustrious career, he predicted Jimmy Butler’s future. In the last season, the Miami Heat almost achieved history. The 8th seeding team managed to reach the NBA Finals and were about to create history by winning it. However, things went south in the finals and Wade had something interesting to say around that time.

He said, “They’re writing their history, Jimmy, he’s building his own story. He’s building his own Hall of Fame career. And as someone who’s a fan of the game… I love to see it. It is great for the game,” reported Sports Illustrated. 

What do you make of Jimmy Butler’s emotional words for Dwyane Wade? Let us know in the comments.

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