Suffice it to say, Charles Barkley is clearly not a fan of the statue honoring Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade outside Kaseya Center.
Social media erupted after the statue was unveiled in Miami on Sunday. Most of the sculpture was fine. It’s just the face that is the stuff of nightmares. Oh, that face.
You know that scene in Star Wars where Han Solo is frozen in carbonite? Yeah. It’s like that.
Barkley, not one exactly to hold back his thoughts, torched the likeness of the three-time NBA champion.
“It’s a great honor, but they gotta take that thing down,” he deadpanned.
Barkley added, “If you made an ugly statue that’s what it would look like. That thing is awful.”
"It's a great honor. But they gotta take that thing down." 🤣
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) October 29, 2024
Chuck & the crew give their thoughts on Dwyane Wade's statue pic.twitter.com/jIzSQjw0Me
Dwyane Wade Statue Should Be Outlawed In Florida
I’m certainly glad Charles had the gumption to come out and let Dwyane Wade know that the statue needs to go. Sometimes, you just need to hear the truth from a friend.
Not only should they take it down, but Governor Ron DeSantis should declare it a residential safety hazard and have it banned from his state.
I mean, look at that thing. And if you’re not sure how bad it is, these memes of it photoshopped on actual images of Wade should make it crystal clear.
these dwyane wade statue memes are hilarious 😭 pic.twitter.com/vdK1qKcyfr
— michael (@3MWD__) October 28, 2024
Good god.
At one point, Barkley’s co-host on TNT’s Tip-Off show, Kenny Smith, suggested the face only looked that way because it was trying to show Wade “animated.”
“That was after he saw the statue right there. That’s the face he made after [he saw it],” Barkley shot back. “Hey, Kenny, that statue was so bad they had to put all his stats behind it so you know who it was.”
Some Have Defended The Statue
While everybody with a working set of eyes has ripped the Dwyane Wade statue to shreds, there have been some who fought back against the criticism.
Two people, really. Wade and the artist who made this travesty.
“Social media world is about opinions. Send some memes. We don’t care. It was a special moment yesterday, my family and I.” said Wade.
Wade added that it “don’t need to look like me” because it’s an “artistic” rendition. Nah, bro. It needs to look somewhat like you. That thing is going to be out there for years and years to come. Instead of people admiring it, children will have their dreams haunted when they return home from the game.
The artist also responded to the criticism saying, “I don’t think anybody else can do better than that.”
That’s because everybody else could have done better.
