NBA legend breaks silence on 'unrecognizable' statue of him following criticism from fans

Dwyane Wade has reflected on the 'opinions' being shared on social media about the statue of him erected outside the Kaseya Center.

On October 27, a statue of the National Basketball Association (NBA) Miami Heat legend was unveiled at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida.

Despite the momentous occasion this was for the 42-year-old athlete, some social media users simply couldn't help themselves, taking to their keyboards to poke fun at the statue for supposedly being 'completely unrecognizable'.

The 8ft bronze statue of the basketball player was unveiled with billows of smoke and jets of flames, as well as a live broadcast,on multiple channels, with crowds gathered eagerly to see what lay behind two walls.

Alas, when the smoke cleared to show a figure wearing a basketball vest with the number three on it, arms raised in the air, fingers pointing down, and the statue's mouth open in a shout - paying tribute to a moment during Wade's sixth NBA season when he scored one of the most memorable shots of his career on March 9, 2009 -, it didn't take long for people to take to Twitter, many saying the same thing.

One user said: "Why are statues so hard!? We’ve only been doing it since the beginning of EVERYTHING!"

"Who approved this?????" Another added.

And Wade has since reflected on the responses to the statue.

Dwyane Wade has responded to the criticism of the statue (Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

Wade was reportedly 'heavily involved' in the making of the statue, advising sculptors Omri Amrany and Oscar León to certain tweaks and changes he wanted made.

León previously noted they made 'all the adjustments he wanted' and the athlete 'walked away very happy' with the outcome of the piece.

León added the statue 'is what it is' and he doesn't think 'anybody else can do better than that'.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Wade argued if he wanted the statue to look exactly like him, he'd 'just stand outside the arena' and allow people to take photos.

"It don’t need to look like me. It’s the artistic version of a moment that happened that we’re trying to cement," he continued. "[...] I don’t know a lot of people with a statue. Do you? Anybody here, y’all know anything about the process of a statue? No one out there do neither. And so, it’s an unbelievable process to be a part of. And it’s a complicated process."

And to the haters? Well, Wade notes he does 'care', but he also doesn't at the same time.

"The social media world is about opinions. Everyone has an opinion. Everyone, use y’all opinions," he reflected, resolving: "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."

*Mic drop*