The Miami Heat unveiled Dwyane Wade’s statue outside Kaseya Center on Sunday afternoon, their first statue in team history. The statue immortalizes Wade’s iconic game-winner from March 9, 2009, where he stood on the scorer’s table and famously declared, “This is my house!”
Wade’s daughter, Kaavia James, stole the spotlight during the event by climbing onto her father’s statue and striking his signature pose, pointing at the ground.
Watch it below.
In the game that inspired the statue, Wade and the Heat topped the Chicago Bulls 130-127 in double overtime. He finished with 48 points, 12 assists, six rebounds, four steals and three blocks on 15-for-21 shooting. With the game tied at 127-all, sealed the win with his fifth 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Dwyane Wade spent 15 seasons in Miami, helping the Heat win all three of their championships. He made 13 All-Star appearances and earned eight All-NBA selections and three All-Defensive nods. He finished his career with averages of 22.0 points, 5.4 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game.
Following the unveiling of his statue, Dwyane Wade spoke on the moment that inspired the statue’s pose; his game-winning shot from 2009.
“I didn’t know that moment was going to be a statue. What I did know, I did know that I just hit a game-winner against my hometown team, the Chicago Bulls. I did know that I was a kid who always wanted to jump on the scorer’s table… I said whatever came to mind, and what came to mind was, ‘This is my house.'”
Wade also paid homage to Pat Riley, the Heat’s owner, who coached the Hall of Famer during Miami’s first title run in the 2005-06 NBA season. After taking over following Stan Van Gundy’s departure, Riley coached the Heat to a 41-20 record during his 61-game coaching span and finished eighth in Coach of the Year voting. Riley also selected Wade with the No. 5 pick in the historic 2003 NBA draft.