Dwyane Wade defends new Heat statue, dismisses criticism: 'I don't know many people with a statue'

Dwyane Wade has seen the jokes and the criticism. He just doesn't care.

The former Miami Heat star spoke Monday about the new statue depicting him outside the team's arena in South Florida, which drew much criticism and jokes when it was unveiled Sunday after many thought it looked nothing like him.

Wade spent almost his entire Hall of Fame career with the Heat, leading them to three NBA titles. He is still the team's all-time leading scorer and the first player in franchise history to actually receive a statue.

Even though it doesn't really look like him, especially on the face, Wade loves it.

Wade was directly involved in the creation of the statue, which took approximately 800 hours to complete. The moment comes from a game against the Chicago Bulls in 2009, after Wade hit a buzzer to lead the Heat to victory in double overtime.

Although he was quick to defend the artists who created the statue of him, he knows they just have to laugh, brush off the criticism and move on.