Dwyane Wade statue: Miami Heat tribute draws fans criticism

Dwyane Wade’s status as a Miami Heat legend was further cemented on Sunday as the franchise unveiled an eight-foot statue of the three-time NBA champion.

Wade is the first player in Heat history to be immortalized with a statue outside of the team’s Kaseya Center, with the bronze sculpture honouring his iconic ‘This is my house’ celebration from the double-overtime win against the Chicago Bulls in 2009.

The 42-year-old played 16 season in the NBA and was selected as an All-Star 13 times before retiring in 2019. Wade ranks No. 1 in Heat history for points, assists and games played, and is one of just two players to have been on all three of the franchise’s title-winning teams.

Wade’s remarkable career also earned him a place in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

“That’s crazy. I can’t believe that. Who is that guy?” Wade said when the statue was unveiled behind him.

It turned out a lot of fans were also asking the same question.

Some were critical of the statue’s likeness to Wade, drawing comparisons to the infamous bust of Cristiano Ronaldo that was unveiled at Madeira Airport in 2017.

One comment on an Instagram video of the unveiling said that the statue better resembled Laurence Fishburne as ’Morpheus’ from the movie ‘The Matrix’ than Wade.

However, Will Manso, a local reporter, later posted a close-up photo of the statue on X, formerly known as Twitter, and said it “looks much better than in pictures.”

Wade, for his part though, appeared in awe of the statue behind him as he gave his speech.

“This is crazy,” he said. “I wanted to feel this. Life goes by so fast and it’s very rare that we get to feel things because we’re always off to the next thing.

“So I didn’t prepare much because I wanted to feel this, man. I wanted to look at it,” he added, again turning around to admire the statue.

Miami’s two-day celebration of Wade will continue on Monday night when the Heat host the Detroit Pistons.

Steph Curry suffers injury in Warriors loss

The Golden State Warriors are sweating over the health of franchise star Steph Curry, who was forced out of their 112-104 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers with an ankle injury.

Curry twisted his left ankle in the third quarter but re-entered the game in the fourth after receiving treatment on the bench. However, he then left the contest for good after re-aggravating the injury and had to be helped back to the locker room by teammates.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Curry described the injury as “mild or moderate,” adding he would undergo an MRI scan on Sunday.

“He’s obviously sprained that ankle many times before,” Kerr added. “He doesn’t think it’s too bad, but it’s a concern.”

Curry had 18 points, four rebounds, six assists and two steals before exiting, with Andrew Wiggins stepping up in his absence to record a game-high 29 points.

The Clippers, who improve to 2-1, had two players record double-doubles – James Harden had 23 points and 11 assists, while Ivica Zubac had 23 points and 18 rebounds.

Tyrese Maxey leads Sixers to first win

Tyrese Maxey scored 45 points to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to their first win of the season, beating the Indiana Pacers 118-114 in an overtime thriller.

The Pacers appeared to be in control down the stretch, but three turnovers on three consecutive possessions opened the door for the Sixers to take a three-point lead.

But Tyrese Haliburton tied the game for the Pacers with an off-balance three-pointer with just three seconds remaining to send it to OT.

However, the Pacers never led again as Maxey scored 10 of his 45 in OT.

It was a much needed return to form for Maxey, who shot less than 30% over the first two games of the season as Philly continues to struggle in the absence of franchise star Joel Embiid and new acquisition Paul George.

Tyrese Haliburton led the way for the Pacers with 22 points but still looks a long way off last season’s form.