Heat unveils statue of Dwyane Wade outside team's arena

MIAMI – Dwyane Wade is now the first Miami Heat player with a statue outside the team's arena.

The Heat unveiled the statue Sunday, about eight months after team president Pat Riley announced plans for the honor. Wade is Miami's all-time leading scorer and he and Udonis Haslem are the only players to have played on all three Heat teams that won NBA championships.

“This is crazy,” Wade said shortly after the reveal. “I wanted to feel that. Life goes by so quickly and it is very rare that we feel things because we are always moving on to the next thing. …I wanted to feel that, man. I wanted to look at it.”

An in-game celebration will follow Monday when Miami hosts Detroit on the 21st anniversary of Wade's debut game with the franchise.

Wade, a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, is one of six former Heat players whose players were retired by the team, along with Haslem, Chris Bosh, Tim Hardaway, Shaquille O'Neal and Alonzo Mourning.

“As the greatest player of all time in Miami Heat history, it's his day, it's his family's day,” Riley said.

The statue is accompanied by a wall listing Wade's professional achievements and was placed outside the front doors of the team arena. Wade is now part owner of the Utah Jazz and pursues many other business interests.