Dwyane Wade's new statue is getting people talking. Here's a look at six other sports statues that went viral

CNN
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Receiving a statue of yourself is one of the greatest honors in sports. The ultimate testament to your career and physical proof of your legacy.

However, there are of course challenges involved in shaping a sports superstar into metal.

Sometimes a statue doesn't always bear a complete resemblance to its muse.

The Miami Heat unveiled a statue of franchise legend and Basketball Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade on Sunday, with the statue's design immediately going viral and drawing some unwanted comparisons.

“This is crazy. I can't believe that. “Who is this guy?” Wade said at the unveiling.

Whether Wade was expressing shock at the sculpture's design or simply grappling with the significance of the moment is up for debate, but he's certainly not the only sports star whose statue is garnering attention for all the wrong reasons.

Legendary footballer Cristiano Ronaldo was honored to have an airport named after him in Madeira, Portugal – his birthplace – although he may have wished the honors had stopped there.

Instead, he was presented with what is arguably the most infamous statue of a sports legend of all time. A bust of the then Real Madrid star was unveiled at the airport, causing a stir on social media because it supposedly bore a resemblance to the subject – or not.

Some suggested the bust resembled former Republic of Ireland striker Niall Quinn or former Liverpool defender John Arne Riise.

Despite the backlash, the bust's artist, Emmanuel Santos, defended the design.

“Even Jesus didn’t please everyone,” Santos told Portuguese website Globo Sports. “It's a matter of taste, it's not as easy as it seems.

“What matters is the impact this work creates. There is always the opportunity to make a difference. I used photos of Cristiano Ronaldo and searched the internet as a basis. I put the photos next to me and started working on the bust.

“Cristiano saw the photos his brother sent him. I went to Cristiano’s museum in Madeira with the brother and from the messages he sent I could tell he liked what he saw.”

In 2009, a statue of Baseball Hall of Famer Walter Johnson was unveiled outside Nationals Park, home of the Washington Nationals. Johnson had a legendary career as a pitcher for the Washington Senators (who eventually moved to the Minnesota Twins) between 1907 and 1927.

The statue's design – which shows Johnson in various stages of nodding motion – is certainly unique. However, Johnson's grandson and biographer Henry Thomas used different words to describe it.

“It just doesn’t work,” he said. “These big pieces of matter coming out of Walter’s shoulder look like driftwood. But I don't like any part of the statue. I'm really against it. It's ridiculous, not even close. He looks awkward. His delivery location is completely wrong. His legs are too stiff. The “W” on his uniform is too big. And the inscription is on the back (of the base). It doesn’t even face the square.”

Andy Murray

While most tennis tournaments like to stick to trophies for their winners, the Shanghai Masters likes to take a slightly different approach for the men's singles winners.

While the champion gets to take home some silverware, he also gets the distinction of seeing his likeness transformed into a terracotta statue.

The champion is designed in the style of the famous Chinese Terracotta Army and is depicted with a tennis racket rather than a weapon.

Britain's Andy Murray won the competition in 2010 and was honored in terracotta the following year – the inspiration for the design probably came before the haircut.

Perhaps the statue was a good omen for the Scot, who defended his title in 2011 before winning it again in 2016.

Football icon Diego Maradona was honored with a striking statue with a golden left foot by former club Napoli on his 62nd birthday in 2022 – Maradona died in 2020.

The Argentine is synonymous with the Italian club, so it might come as a surprise to some that he has also been enshrined in statue form in Kolkata, India.

According to Sky Sports, the statue is 12 feet tall and Maradona himself helped unveil it at a charity event in 2017. He is shown holding up the World Cup trophy.

“Good to see the guy who made the Ronaldo model is still in business,” one social media user remarked after the statue's unveiling.

Questionable statues of football superstars seem to be an issue.

In 2018, a statue of Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah was unveiled in his home country of Egypt, showing him doing his trademark gesture with his arms outstretched.

The special proportions of the sculpture attracted attention: the figure had an oversized head and unusually short and thin legs.

Even the artist Mai Abdel Allah was not entirely satisfied with the result.

“Bronze didn't do it justice and I didn't have a hand in casting (the mold) in bronze because bronze can only be cast in certain places in Egypt and sculptors can't do it alone,” she told Egypt's state-run newspaper Al-Ahram on-line.

“I welcome any criticism this statue has received. This is natural because an artist is subject to many tastes, but personally I am not satisfied with the final product of the statue.”

David Beckham's celebrity status has long transcended football, so it's not exactly a surprise that his likeness is being used in advertising campaigns.

That didn't make it any less surreal when a silver statue of the Englishman appeared in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco in 2012, showing Beckham in his underwear instead of a football uniform.

The sculpture was part of H&M's underwear marketing program and was created while Beckham was under contract with Major League Soccer club Los Angeles Galaxy.