Former New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony has seen it all when it comes to Dwyane Wade, from their epic battles on the court to unforgettable off-court moments. But nothing could prepare Melo for Wade’s newly unveiled statue in Miami. The statue, intended to honor the Miami Heat legend, has become a viral sensation—not for its brilliance, but for how little it resembles Wade. During a hilarious segment on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Melo couldn’t resist cracking jokes about it. Now, he’s at it again.

On his 7 PM in Brooklyn podcast, Carmelo Anthony shared the moment he finally got a good look at Wade’s statue. He admitted he missed the details at the unveiling ceremony but caught up later at his hotel. What was his reaction? “So I get back to the hotel and I get the picture. They’re like, nah, like, who’s this? Honestly, who is it? I thought somebody was making a joke,” Melo said, before delivering the punchline. “I was like, nah, this is, this is James Evans. This is JJ’s father, this is JJ’s father right here.” The reference to the iconic sitcom character from Good Times only made the moment funnier.

Interestingly, at Wade’s post-ceremony celebration, he had to bring it up. “Yo D, how you feel about that?” Melo asked, still laughing about the statue. Wade’s response? “I got one,” Wade replied. “I said, damn, you know what? That’s your answer. F*** everybody else. You got one,” Melo said on the podcast.

Even Wade couldn’t help but joke about it during his unveiling speech. “I didn’t prepare much because I wanted to feel this, man,” Wade said, pausing to take in the moment. “I wanted to look at it. Like, that’s crazy. I can’t believe that. Who is that guy?”

But behind the jokes was a heartfelt sentiment. Wade later shared how much the honor truly meant to him. “This is nothing that you can dream of. This is nothing I ever thought I would experience,” he explained. “I didn’t play for this, I didn’t pick up the basketball for this. I picked up the basketball to change my family’s life.”

Melo’s hilarious take on Wade’s viral sculpture

During his appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Carmelo Anthony shared his first reaction to Dwyane Wade’s now-infamous statue. “I went to the actual ceremony, so I didn’t see it, because I was sitting on the side,” Melo explained. But things got interesting once he returned to his hotel. “I got back to the hotel, and somebody sent me a screenshot of it, and I was like, oh, no, we got the wrong thing. This is not [Wade]!” he said, recounting his disbelief with a laugh.

Interestingly, Melo applauded Wade for how he handled the buzz surrounding the statue. “He’s handled it very well. He said, ‘I don’t care what it looks like,’” Melo shared, calling attention to Wade’s relaxed attitude. Melo couldn’t help but tease his friend further, though. “He loved the process of it and just forgot the outcome,” Melo joked.

For his part, Wade took the statue chatter in stride, addressing it with humor on social media. “If I wanted it to look like me, I’d just stand outside the arena and y’all can take photos,” he said, summing up his thoughts on the criticism. Dwayne Wade emphasized the statue’s artistic intention over its resemblance, calling it “a moment we’re trying to cement.”

Wade also encouraged people to keep talking about it. “I care, but I don’t,” he said about the viral responses. “Everyone has an opinion. Please, talk more about us. Talk more about the statue, come on down to see it, take some photos, send some memes. We don’t care.” Now, that’s how you turn memes into a moment.