Ranking the 10 worst NBA player statues

The unveiling of Dwyane Wade’s statue ultimately went wrong. Although Wade was satisfied with the results, the NBA world don’t exactly agree with him. In fact, some basketball fans may even think his statue looked like actor Laurence Fishburne. Unfortunately, the statue didn’t exactly do justice to the decorated Heat legend who brought three championships to Miami.

2. Jerry West

While Jerry West’s statue was great at the Staples Center, the one that originally stood outside the NBA City Restaurant in Orlando, Florida wasn’t. Before being taken down, the visitors of the NBA City restaurant were welcomed by a 33-foot statue of the NBA’s Logoman, who was West. Anyone can agree that the statue was a sight for sore eyes.

3. Magic Johnson

Another Lakers great who had a great statue at the Staples Center was Magic Johnson. But prior to that, the former Lakers star also had a statue built at his alma mater Michigan State. It was made in honor of his impact at the college basketball level. However, it’s safe to say that MSU’s statue of Johnson didn’t exactly do justice to an influential star like him.

4. Dominique Wilkins

Dominique Wilkins electrified arena with his thunderous dunks when he starred for the Atlanta Hawks. As a result, the franchise honored the best player in Hawks history with a statue. Unfortunately, the sculpture that was erected outside of the Hawks arena didn’t look like Wilkins at all. Nonetheless, the nine-time NBA All-Star was still satisfied with the results.

5. Scottie Pippen

Scottie Pippen was part of the Bulls teams that carved out a pair of three-peats. In fact, he was arguably the second-best Bulls player next to Michael Jordan. To honor Pippen, the Bulls even had a ceremony to unveil the bronze sculpture of the six-time NBA champion. While it did capture some of Pippen’s features, the sculpture resembled a retired Pippen. But more importantly, unlike the usual statues, it only featured Pippen’s upper body.

6. Ja Morant

Ja Morant isn’t a hall of famer just yet. However, Nike decided to build him a statue in New York, of all places. Nike is usually spot-on with its advertisement campaigns. However, they messed up in the NY vs. NY event held in Gersh Park. A statue of Morant was built in the park wearing Ja 1s in the NY vs. NY colorway.

While the statue was lifelike, the location was questionable at best given that Morant plays for the Memphis Grizzlies. Furthermore, statues are supposed to be reserved for NBA legends who carved out legendary careers in their respective cities.

7. Kobe Bryant

As much as fans appreciated Kobe Bryant and the Lakers honoring his legacy, Bryant’s statue in Staples Center just didn’t hit the mark. While the sculpture showcases Bryant’s celebratory moment when he dropped a career-high 81 points, the facial features hardly resembled the Black Mamba. To make matters worse, there were even errors on the statue’s marble base.

8. Hakeem Olajuwon

Hakeem Olajuwon was a key member of the Houston Rockets, leading the franchise to back-to-back championships in the 1990s. As the brains behind the Dream Shake, Olajuwon was one of the best finesse big men the league has ever seen. As a result, it was only fitting that the Rockets immortalized his greatness with a statue. But given that Olajuwon’s faith prevents him from being represented in a statue, the Rockets compromised by making a bronze sculpture of his jersey.

9. Bob Cousy

During his peak back in the day, the late Bob Cousy certainly had a deep bag of tricks. As a result, it wasn’t surprising that he was called the Houdini of the Hardwood. But while Cousy was stellar, his statue showed him doing an odd position. On the surface, it looks like he’s sitting on a bunch of basketballs. But as it turned out that it was apparently a depiction of the six-time NBA champion doing a behind-the-back pass. Certainly, it could’ve been done a lot better.

10. George Mikan

Although it isn’t exactly a terrible statue, it’s the location that makes George Mikan’s statue one of the worst. Mikan was the spearhead of the Minneapolis Lakers back in the day before the move to Los Angeles. While Mikan represented the Purple and Gold quite well, his statue wasn’t erected in Staples Center. Instead, his statue was placed in Target Center, where the Minnesota Timberwolves play. Of course, the Timberwolves have never been come close to replicating Mikan’s feat.