"Biggest loser of the day was Dwyane Wade" - NBA insider slams Miami Heat legend's "worst statue of all time"

Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade was honored Sunday with a statue unveiling outside of Kaseya Center. However, the bronze sculpture's questionable resemblance to the Hall of Famer quickly sparked online mockery. The Ringer's Bill Simmons continued piling on the criticism, proclaiming it the "worst statue of all time."

Wade's much-maligned sculpture is an artistic rendition of his celebration following Miami's 130-127 double-overtime victory over the Chicago Bulls on March 9, 2009. After hitting the game-winning shot and finishing with 48 points, the three-time NBA champion jumped on the scorer's table and shouted, "This is my house!"

While the statue captured Wade's passion and body positioning, many felt its facial details left much to be desired.

During Sunday's episode of "The Bill Simmons Podcast," Simmons and his guest Sal Iacono, AKA Cousin Sal, weighed in on Wade's sculpture.

The veteran NBA insider didn't hold back, likening it to a fire survivor, adding that the design is an all-time blunder.

"The biggest loser of the day was Dwyane Wade, who had the worst statue of all time," Simmons said. "... I actually thought it looked like somebody who had emerged from a fire and lived.

"... Can you imagine having a statue look that bad of yourself being unveiled? What would you even say, 'Uh, thanks.' There's never been a worse sports statue ever, and it got rightfully killed today," he continued.

Afterward, Cousin Sal compared the statue to the monster Gollum from "The Lord of the Rings" film series.

"I don't even know, is it like Gollum or something, like who is it? It really looks like a freaky, like some kind of 'Lord of the Rings' character or some s**t," Cousin Sal said.

Simmons later quipped that if he didn't know the sculpture's identity beforehand, it would have taken him "700 guesses" to successfully guess it was Wade.

(from 4:52 mark onwards)

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Dwyane Wade defends statue amid online backlash

Amid NBA fans and analysts' persistent ridicule of his statue, Dwyane Wade pushed back on Monday.

According to the 13-time All-Star, what the sculpture represents is more important than how accurately it depicts him.

"If I wanted it to look like me, I'd just stand outside the arena and y'all can take photos," Wade said. "It doesn't need to look like me. It's the artistic version of a moment that happened that we're trying to cement."

However, Wade added that he is more or less unbothered by the backlash and encouraged everyone to continue expressing their honest opinions.

"I care, but I don't," Wade said. "The social media world is about opinions. Everyone has an opinion. Everyone, use y'all opinions. Please talk more about us. Talk more about a statue, come on down to see it, take some photos, send some memes. We don't care."

As Wade alluded to, his statue has already become a viral meme, with fans creatively utilizing its questionable facial details. So, that appears unlikely to change anytime soon.

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