The number keeps adding up. Another NBA star has now joined the list of people upset over Dwyane Wade’s new statue by the Miami Heat. The lack of resemblance has been the point of disappointment for many. Even Wade’s loud acceptance of the end result and repetitive assurance of the same couldn’t melt their concern. Former Golden State Warriors’ star, Matt Barnes, instead believes the Miami Heat star isn’t satisfied

In a fit of frustration, Barnes even asked whom he could bring this matter up with. “Who do I got to slap over this D-Wade statue?” Barnes snapped. He described how he’s gotten to know the 3 x NBA champ better in recent days and appeared clearly upset about the situation. Like many on social media, Barnes also assumed that Wade didn’t seem entirely satisfied with the statue. 

The question was raised during a segment at All The Smoke Podcast and while speaking to their guest Trevor Ariza, Barnes said, “But you can see, Trev, when he’s kind of looking at this statue, obviously this is a moment to shed a tear and kind of reminisce. But then he saw the facial structure of this motherf—-er right here. He’s like, ‘that’s not me.'” 

While Barnes didn’t want to offend the sculptor and creators behind the statue, he had a doubt quite possibly aligning with many of the Miami Heat icon’s fans. He asked whether a change was possible in this case. 

“Man, my question is, can they cut the head off and keep the body and redo the face? And whoever did this statue, I’m sorry, bro. I’m not going to say nothing crazy because he might have known the artist, and I don’t want to offend nobody, but that needed some work,” he questioned.

DWade, however, is proud of the moment, and doesn’t really care if the statue looked like him. It was the moment they were trying to capture and the sculptors did. Upon being asked if he has come across the reactions, the 3x NBA champ admitted he had and that it didn’t bother him, because everyone has opinions. “Send us mems. We don’t care. It was a special moment,” he says.

Wade also went on to explain how many are oblivious to the process behind making a statue. He was one himself. It was complicated, it involved many discussions, but they wanted something would define his time with the Miami Heat. They are satisfied with what they got. “I felt like we captured that moment in artistic form. If I wanted to look like me, I will just stand outside the arena, y’all can take photos.” 

So that was the answer to Barnes, the fans, and the other sports celebrities, including Nick Young and Rashad McCants, NFL legend Shannon Sharpe, who have voiced similar opinions. 

Shannon Sharpe claimed that Dwyane Wade’s statue is unrecognizable 

On his show, Sharpe claimed that the statue’s face didn’t resemble Dwyane Wade. He suggested that if the Miami Heat jersey were removed, no one would recognize it. “Take that three Miami Heat jersey off and just poll everybody. Who is this statue of? I guarantee you not one person would be able to tell you that’s D-Wade. That’s criminal,” Sharpe claimed. He even asked for the names of the sculptors so he could avoid similar issues when it came time to honor LeBron James.

The statue was created by renowned artists Omri Amrany and Oscar León of the Amrany Studio. Young remarked that the statue looked like a 70-year-old version of Wade, while McCants reposted one of the many memes about it on X to show his disapproval. American podcaster was quite harsh while criticizing the Heat Legends’ statue. “The biggest loser of the day was Dwyane Wade who had the worst statue of all time. It looked like somebody who had emerged from a fire and lived…” Simmons said on his podcast.

Currently, criticism continues to grow. Have the sculptors responded? Yes, one of the artists commented that this is the best and most accurate representation. “I couldn’t do better than that. I don’t think anybody else can do better than that. It is what it is, and we will love it forever,” Omri Amrany said, after stating the noise was only natural. “Art that doesn’t [evoke] response is the most boring,” he states. 

Notably, Wade was involved throughout the sculpting process. It’s unlikely any changes will be made, given that both the franchise and the 3x NBA champion are satisfied with the statue.