- The statue has been getting roasted on social media ever since its unveiling
- Wade has already seen the funny side of the reactions on social media
- The reaction of Charles Barkley was short, sweet and hilarious
Having long been in the NBA record books as one of the greatest power forwards in basketball history, the legacy of Charles Barkley in the sport was cemented almost a quarter of a century ago. His post-court work as an NBA analyst has also rightfully earned the 11 time All-Star a plethora of plaudits. And Sir Charles’ recent reaction to the statue of Dwyane Wade, unveiled by the Miami Heat on Sunday, may be his greatest slam dunk of analysis yet.
The Heat revealed the eight foot bronze sculpture of their legendary number three on Sunday (October 27) and the immediate reaction on social media was…well…it wasn’t good.
While Wade has been able to see the funny side of the response to the statue, comparing it to Emmy Award winning actor Laurence Fishburne and explaining, “It don’t need to look like me. It’s an artistic version of me” Barkley had an altogether more concerned approach when discussing the sculpture.
On TNT’s ‘Tip-Off’ show on Tuesday night (October 29), Barkley didn’t hold back, keeping his criticism short and sweet and hilarious.
“It’s a great honor but they gotta take that thing down.”
As if calling for the felling of the statue wasn’t enough, when Barkley’s co-analyst Kenny ‘The Jet’ Smith made the case that if the statue was animated, that’s what it would look like, Barkley countered, “If you made an ugly statue that’s what it would look like. That thing is awful.”
To put a further exclamation point on his putdown, Sir Charles signed off by saying, “Hey Kenny, the statue was so bad they had to put all his stats behind it so you know who it was.”
(h/t Sports Illustrated)
