“This is my house.” That shout, that moment, that game, cemented Dwyane Wade’s legacy as one of the all-time greats. In the game against the Bulls in 2009, Dwyane Wade scored a game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer of double overtime, then jumped on a courtside table and yelled, “This is my house,” while pointing his fingers down towards the court. Now, that moment has been immortalised by the Miami Heat, where Wade played for fifteen years and won three championships.

Dwyane Wade became the first Heat player in history to get his statue. Situated outside the Kaseya Arena, home of the Heat, the statue captures that famous moment against the Bulls. Although the statue signifies the undeniable greatness of D-Wade, it has also been a subject of a lot of scrutiny. Many fans believe that the face of the statue does not look like Wade’s; instead, some people hilariously pointed out that the statue looked more like Hollywood actor Laurence Fishburne. Wade himself had a funny encounter with a disgruntled fan.

Appearing on the Pardon My Take podcast, Wade narrated how he slipped away one night with just his crew to inspect his new bronze at Kaseya Arena—only to hear a lone fan’s harsh verdict before he even rounded the corner. At three in the morning, the arena was empty except for that disgruntled voice shouting, “Oh man, they f—— my man up,” about Wade’s own likeness. Wade continued to describe how the man didn’t even pay attention to the statue to begin with, “A guy walks up to see the statue. I am behind the statue, looking at all the details. He’s not even at the statue yet, he’s still walking up to it.” Rather than take offense, Wade leaned in. “I said to him, ‘Bro, did you even look at the statue? Or are you going off because of everything you heard?” he asked.

Even through all the mockery, jokes, and memes, D-Wade has always defended the statue and its sculptors. When asked if he cares what people are saying about the statue, he gave a witty reply, saying he only listens to other people who have statues. “I don’t know a lot of people with a statue. Do you? Anybody here, you all know anything about the process of a statue? No one out there do either,” Dwyane said. “And it’s a complicated process.”

Hailing from a poor neighbourhood in Chicago, where crime was rampant, Wade grew up in a dysfunctional household. His parents divorced shortly after his birth, and initially, he was staying with his mother. But she struggled with substance abuse. After a few years, his sister took him to his father’s house, where Wade stayed with his family. He was initially into football, playing as a wide receiver. But at the insistence of his step-brother, he started playing basketball. And he never stopped.

Dwyane Wade has given hoops fans some iconic moments on the court. But there is one such moment that he truly regrets.

Dwyane Wade thinks he is the reason why players don’t take the All-Star game seriously anymore

Wade’s self-critique on the Underground Lounge digs into a stark reality. The NBA All-Star Game is hemorrhaging fans and intensity. Since his hard foul on Kobe Bryant in Orlando in 2012—an incident that left Kobe with a bleeding nose and concussion—the exhibition’s defensive spirit evaporated. “You’re not going to want to play, and you’re at the arena at 3:00. You’ve got five hours to be at the arena, taking pictures, doing all these things before you got to go hoop. Who doing that?” Dwyane says.

Wade believes the All-Star game is not about basketball anymore. Instead, it’s all about sponsorships, the partners, and this and that. He believes the All-Star game stopped being competitive when he accidentally broke Kobe Bryant’s nose in 2012. That was the first major foul committed in All-Star history, which left Kobe with a bleeding nose and concussion.

Viewership reflects that decline: after peaking at 9.1 million in 2011, the game drew just 4.7 million in 2025, the second-lowest ever and a 13 percent drop from 2024. In response, the league has rolled out half-measures—from four-team tournaments and Elam endings in 2024 to charity incentives for blocks and steals. But none have restored genuine competition. Even Draymond Green blasted the format change as “unfair” to players trying to play real defense.

Reflecting on it all, Wade quipped, “I think that was the end of competitiveness right there. I think I f***** the All-Star game up, everybody. It was when I hit Kobe. Everybody’s like, ‘No, we’re not playing no more defense.’ My bad, my bad y’all,” then recalled Kobe’s gracious reply: “Bro, I love it. I’ll see you in a couple of days.” That moment—and its ripple effects—underscores how one hard foul can rewrite expectations for what should be the league’s brightest showcase