Dwyane Wade got his much-awaited honor, but the support for honor is what he’s lacking. As most fans would know, from the NBA entities to netizens, there has been immense criticism against the Miami Heat icon’s statue. It comes from the fact that the statue looks nothing like him. Lacking the support, however, D-Wade himself has extended enough support to the statue. Now, this may contradict with what Charles Barkley had to say about the statue on a recent episode of Inside the NBA.

The Miami Heat icon shared an IG story featuring the actual “this is my house” moment from his game against the Bulls back in 2009. “Detailed to the bubble gum in my mouth,” he wrote, highlighting the precision in the statue. Meanwhile, Ernie Johnson, on Inside the NBA, started the conversation on a hilarious note stating it’s a weird coincidence that they all were dressed as Dwyane Wade for Halloween.

Well, in reality, none of them actually dressed up as the 3x NBA champ. From what it seems, it was a hilarious take that at this point, anyone looks like D-Wade but that statue. Johnson, however, highlighted it to be a great honor, regardless of everything else. “It’s a great honor, but they gotta take that thing down,” Barkley added to Ernie’s opinion.

Now, Kenny Smith tried adding a balance of opinions by stating the artists probably went for an animated face and then they made a bronze statue. Barkley, however, could not care less, as all that the statue is to him is “ugly”. Further poking fun at the statue, Barkley stated the face to be an expression when someone sees the statue. “That thing’s awful…” he said on the show.

But Dwayne completely differs from not just Barkley but all such opinions that have come in so far. While his aforementioned IG story is one instance, he also opened about all the incoming criticism during his media interactions. “I care, but I don’t,” Wade told The Associated Press. He further highlighted that if he wanted the statue to look exactly like him, he would’ve stood outside the arena himself so everyone could take photos. For him, it’s the artistic version of a moment that happened in 2009 that counts.  

Gilbert Arenas blames the ex-wife factor for the terrible appearance of the Dwyane Wade statue

On a recent episode of Gil’s Arena, the former Warriors star brought some lively humor and sharp wit to the discussion around the 3x NBA champ’s newly unveiled statue. He didn’t hold back, laughing at the statue’s look, saying, “You got the Dwyane Wade jersey on with Thanos chin…” His take was clear—there’s something off about that face. And for Gil, there’s just no way Wade approved that design.

The 3x All Star has been around the block, so he knows how much players dream of getting a statue in their honor. A notion he credits to none other than Michael Jordan. But then, Gil threw in his ex-wife theory. “The problem is you can’t let the ex-wife design the face… The only way it looked like that is the ex-wife is like ‘Yeah, yeah… Give him that chin. Put his eyes this way. Put his mouth open… That’s what he gonna look like when he see this sh*t,'” Gil hilariously said.

Now, it’s worth mentioning that Arenas means no disrespect to Dwyane Wade. In fact, he was among the first ones to not only suggest but toot for “this is my house” pose for the statue. It’s all in good humor and a bit of disappointment in the statue. Much like Charles Barkley on Inside the NBA.