Dwyane Wade statue at Kaseya Center to be unveiled Oct. 27, with a halftime ceremony the following night vs. Pistons

MIAMI — It began for Dwyane Wade on Oct. 28, 2003, when the No. 5 pick out of Marquette in that year’s draft began a trajectory that took him to three NBA titles, Olympic gold and Hall of Fame induction.

On that night, there were 18 points from Wade in an 89-74 Miami Heat road loss to Allen Iverson and the Philadelphia 76ers.

Now, 21 years to the day after his regular-season debut, Wade will be honored Oct. 28 at Kaseya Center as the first player in the Miami Heat’s 37 seasons to have a sculpture dedicated in his honor.

That ceremony will come after the unveiling of the bronze Wade statue at 5 p.m. on Oct. 27, where it will sit on the west entrance plaza of the arena, in front of the facility’s main spectator entrance.

Scheduled to appear at the unveiling are Heat Managing General Partner Micky Arison, CEO Nick Arison, President Pat Riley, coach Erik Spoelstra and the current Heat roster.

The Oct. 27 outdoor event, which is open to the public at no charge, requires a ticket for admission, with details at the Heat website and availability to begin Sept. 30. The unveiling also will feature performances by Rick Ross and Nino Breeze.

Dwyane Wade Statue Night will follow on Oct. 28, during the game against the visiting Detroit Pistons. Wade will address the crowd during a halftime presentation, with video tributes to his career played throughout the evening. Tickets for that 7:30 p.m. game already are on sale.

The Heat announced last January the plans for the statue, bringing Wade to tears amid a celebration of his 2023 induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

At the time, Wade said, “It’s not something I dreamed of, but it’s something I definitely grew up knowing about. Michael Jordan had a statue in Chicago. That was the first statue I’ve ever seen, so to be able to be at this point in my life where I know that the same feeling I had when Jordan had his statue is the same feeling that young kids will have coming, getting an opportunity to visit mine, families will have, being able to create memories and moments.”

Heat center Bam Adebayo said last season the honor is fitting.

“It just shows the effect he’s had, not only on the organization, but the community as a whole,” the Heat captain said. “They call it Wade County for a reason and he’ll be stamped in this city forever.”

The statue was sculpted by Omri Amrany and Oscar León of Fine Art Studio Rotblatt Amrany. The two are the same pair who sculpted the Jordan statue at Chicago’s United Center. They also designed the statue of Dirk Nowitzki for the Dallas Mavericks and crafted pieces of Shaquille O’Neal and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar that sit outside of the Los Angeles Lakers’ arena.

“We are honored and excited to capture the essence of Dwyane Wade,” Amrany and León said in a statement. “It is a privilege for both the athlete to be immortalized and for us, as artists, to create a statue that celebrates a lifetime of excellence. We dreamed about this for many years and now, it’s a reality.”

Already in place in NBA cities are statues honoring Bill Russell, Red Auerbach, Larry Bird (Boston); O’Neal, Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Jerry West, Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles); Hakeem Olajuwon (Houston); Tim Duncan (San Antonio); Julius Erving, Wilt Chamberlain, Allen Iverson, Charles Barkley (Philadelphia); Karl Malone, John Stockton (Utah); Dominique Wilkins (Atlanta); George Mikan (Minneapolis) and Reggie Miller (Indianapolis).

Wade already has his No. 3 in the rafters at Kaseya Center, with acknowledgment of his Hall of Fame presence attached. Wade also has a banner in the arena rafter for his gold medal with Team USA at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.