It doesn’t even need to be said that Charles Barkley is one of the sports world’s most outspoken personalities. The basketball hall of famer has no qualms sharing his unfiltered thoughts on a given topic, especially one that’s been widely discussed throughout the Internet. One of the latest points of discussion is a statue that was recently erected in honor of NBA legend Dwyane Wade. The sculpture has since gone viral, and Barkley didn’t hold back while discussing that as well the struggles he’s had with monuments made in his honor.
At the end of October, the Miami Heat unveiled a statue of Dwyane Wade, which now stands outside the team’s arena, the Kaseya Center. The organization held an unveiling ceremony over a week ago, with Wade (who used to live in Florida) and his family in attendance. Since the statue – which captures an intense pose from Wade – was unveiled on Instagram and more, fans have joked about it, arguing that it looks nothing like the three-time NBA champion. Various memes involving the metallic monument’s visage have cropped up as well.
The yet-to-retire Charles Barkley shared some thoughts on the sculpture during his recent appearance on The Dan Patrick Show, which was shared on YouTube. Patrick himself initiated the conversation when he asked the Round Mound of Rebound if he himself has ever had a statue. Barkley – who has statues at Auburn University and the Philadelphia 76’ers’ facility – ultimately called the recreation of the Miami Heat legend “awful.” He also shared his thoughts on the looks that Wade’s children gave amid the ceremony:
Yeah, man, that Dwyane Wade thing. That’s awful, man! … He did have to act like he liked it. But I think I saw some show [on which] they were talking about the looks on his kid’s face looking at him — but when you’re between a rock and a hard place, he can’t do anything.
Interestingly, the NBA GOAT at the center of this discussion offered up a more tempered take on the matter. ESPN reported that when discussing the statue, Dwyane Wade said that the statue “don’t need to look like [him].” As he explained, “the artistic version of a moment that happened that we're trying to cement.” That’s certainly a fair point, though Charles Barkley probably wouldn’t agree with that assessment. My assumption is based on the comments that Charles Barkley also shared when discussing his own statue with a sculptor:
You know, what’s really funny? When I met with those people the first time, it was a really awful-looking statue, before they got the finished product. I said, ‘Yo, man, what are you doing?’ And he says, ‘Well, I got like four or five pictures of you, and I’m trying to merge them together.’ I said, ‘Yo, man, stop it! Pick one picture, and we’re good.’
We should probably expect nothing less from the man who’s made wild statements about Inside the NBA’s cancellation controversy. It’s also worth mentioning that Sir Charles shared thoughts on Wade's sculpture during a recent episode of Inside. Similarly to what he said during the Dan Patrick interview, Barkley asserted, “It's a great honor. But they gotta take that thing down.” His comments drew laughter from co-hosts Ernie Johnson and Shaquille O’Neal (with whom he’s had funny moments).
At the end of the day, though, it’s fair to say that what matters most is what Dwyane Wade thinks. So the sculptors can surely take comfort in the knowledge that Wade is pleased with it. Nevertheless, it would seem that as long as that statue exists, it could occasionally draw jokes from Charles Barkley.