Giannis Antetokounmpo’s reaction to Dwyane Wade’s statue

Giannis Antetokounmpo joins the Miami Heat after spending all of his 13 years in the NBA with the Milwaukee Bucks. And while he may have only one championship to show for his troubles, the Greek Freak is now joining one of the most successful franchises of the league’s modern history, with a number of legends having previously played for the Heat.

That most notably includes Dwyane Wade, who spent 15 years at the Heat, winning three championships, and is the only player who has an official statue dedicated to him outside the Kaseya Center. And well, Giannis had a wholesome reaction when he spotted the statue while driving around the Heat’s arena, per a post on X by ClutchPoints. The 31-year-old was singing to himself when he first spotted a huge billboard welcoming him to the city. However, he was immediately struck when he spotted Wade’s statue.

“Oh, that’s D-Wade’s statue over there. I love it. I love it,” he said.

Of course, Giannis had publicly claimed that he wanted LeBron James to join him and Bam Adebayo as they attempt to land the Heat’s first championship since 2013. Since making their way to the Finals in 2023 with Jimmy Butler as the leading man, the Heat have lost twice in the first round of playoffs and did not even qualify for the postseason last campaign.

However, Giannis’ arrival is expected to kickstart a new era, with LeBron also being rumored to join the Heat until the very end. James eventually ended up choosing the Philadelphia 76ers, much to Giannis’ dismay.

However, the Heat still have a strong lineup, with Davion Mitchell and Tim Hardaway Jr. expected to be the starting guards. Adebayo will take up the Center with Andrew Wiggins starting as the forward alongside Antetokounmpo.

While the potential arrival of LeBron James would undoubtedly have given the team a vastly different look, the Heat are still rumored to be looking at perimeter shooters to give Giannis the best possible platform to help the them reach the kind of levels they regularly showed in the era of Wade and LeBron.