Dwyane Wade to Be Honored with Statue Outside Heat's Kaseya Center on Oct. 27

Dwyane Wade is synonymous with the Miami Heat and a franchise icon, and the team will recognize him accordingly this season.

The franchise announced Thursday that it will unveil a Wade statue outside the Kaseya Center on Oct. 27. The Heat will then recognize him with a ceremony as part of their Oct. 28 home game against the Detroit Pistons.

The team's announcement explained the Oct. 27 statue unveiling will include a musical performance by Rick Ross and Nino Breeze.

It also said the statue was created by sculptors Omri Amrany and Oscar León of Rotblatt Amrany Studio, which is the same studio behind the Michael Jordan statue in Chicago, the Kobe Bryant statue in Los Angeles and the Kobe and Gianna Bryant Memorial Statue in Los Angeles, among others.

As for the Oct. 28 ceremony, Wade will address the crowd at halftime. It is also a notable date, because it will be exactly 21 years after the legend made his debut for the Heat.

It was revealed in January the Heat would unveil a statue of the Hall of Famer at some point during the 2024 calendar year.

"When we retired his jersey in February 2020, I said Dwyane was the face of this franchise forever and I meant it," Heat president Pat Riley said at the time. "Dwyane's legacy is a towering one not only for the Miami HEAT but for Miami-Wade County. I can't think of a better way to honor him than by memorializing that legacy."

Wade will be the first player in Heat history to be honored with a statue:

Miami selected the guard with the No. 5 overall pick of the 2003 NBA draft, which was the same draft that included LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Carmelo Anthony, among others. Wade played the first 13 seasons of his career with the Heat and then rejoined them for 21 games in the 2017-18 campaign and his final season in 2018-19.

In all, he averaged 22.7 points, 5.6 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game during his time on the Heat. His resume included three championships, the 2006 NBA Finals MVP, the 2008-09 scoring title, eight All-NBA selections and 13 All-Star nods.

Wade was the go-to option for the 2005-06 Heat that won a championship and then added two more rings as part of a dominant trio alongside James and Bosh in 2012 and 2013.

He will forever be a Heat legend, and now there will be a statue to prove as much for years to come.