Sculptors preview Dwyane Wade statue set to be unveiled Sunday at Kaseya Center

The sculptors behind the statue of former Miami Heat player Dwyane Wade are previewing its appearance ahead of the unveiling.

The statue is expected to be unveiled on Sunday at the Kaseya Center.

Currently protected from public view by a black box and drape, the statue is designed to honor Wade’s legendary career with the Heat.

“We are trying to one-up what we’ve done in the past in terms of design, execution, composition,” said sculptor Oscar León.

León and Omri Amrany are the artists behind the new statue of the Miami Heat legend. Their celebrated studio also brought to life the Michael Jordan statue in Chicago and Kobe Bryant’s in Los Angeles.

They said that if fans thought Wade was tall in person, he’s even more impressive in statue form.

“On D-Wade, we probably had about 700 to 800 pounds worth of clay, so we had to make sure we had a very strong underlying support system to handle that,” said León.

When asked what made an effective and everlasting work of art, the sculptors might have given a clue as to what type of pose the Wade statue would be in.

“We try to eliminate gravity. If I can give you the feeling that the person is up in the air somehow,” said Amrany.

Although the exact pose remains a mystery, Wade was involved in the process and had input on his likeness.

“It was so cool to be part of the process, to be able to go in and change things around,” he said. “I’m very vain, and so, if my eyebrow was off a little bit, I was letting them know.”

The sculptors said Wade was very happy with the finished product.

“He walked away very happy. By that last visit, he had basically seen everything he wanted to see. We made all the adjustments he wanted,” said León.

León said some surprises were added to the statue.

“We added some Easter eggs, which were a little personal touches to him that you’ll see all over the sculpture,” he said. “I’m not going to go into details because I don’t want to give away what that means.”

The sculptors remained tight-lipped when asked whether the statue is connected to Wade’s heart, following the former NBA star’s comment, “My heart. I’ll be holding my heart. That’s the reason I’m up there, that’s the reason I have a statue.”

Amrany did offer a small spoiler for 7News viewers, advising fans to “look at the fingernails.”

Wade and the sculptors hope fans see the statue as a positive vision of what is possible.

“So I got a chance to kind of take it back to that Dwyane who was 19 when Jordan got his statue,” said Wade.

“The fans, the people who look at the children and say, ‘Look what you can do in the future,’ that is what will make me proud,” said Amrany.

Doors for the unveiling open at 4 p.m. Tickets are free, but fans have to reserve their spot.

FOR MORE INFO:
Dwyane Wade Statue Unveiling
Kaseya Center
601 Biscayne Blvd.
Miami, FL 33132
Tickets