If there is one player on the Miami Heat who has been there and done that, it’s big man Udonis Haslem.
He has played 20 seasons in the NBA, all of them with the Heat, and he has seen multiple ups and down through the years.
Through it all, he has become the team’s elder statesman, not to mention one of the more beloved figures in franchise history.
He is finally calling it quits after the conclusion of this season, and many of his former teammates wished him well in a moving video on Twitter.
You’re gonna need tissues handy for this one 🥹
Ahead of @ThisIsUD‘s final game his teammates from all eras of his 20 year career have nothing but love for OG pic.twitter.com/YjrE7wvkc5
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) April 8, 2023
Haslem is a unique success story, as he went undrafted in 2002 out of the University of Florida.
After spending a season playing basketball overseas, he came to the Heat for the 2003-04 campaign, and he saw a rookie named Dwyane Wade lead them to the second round of the playoffs while hitting clutch shots.
Haslem quickly became a starter and key role player, especially when they won their first NBA championship in 2006.
He persevered through a down period afterward, then adjusted to a reserve role when Miami reached four straight NBA Finals and won back-to-back world titles with LeBron James from 2011 to 2014.
During the team’s current Jimmy Butler-led era, Haslem has barely played, and he has served as an unofficial assistant coach.
But his words carry lots of weight, and when he speaks on the bench or in the locker room, everyone listens and heeds his advice.
After a disappointing 2022-23 season that has seen them claim the seventh-best record in the Eastern Conference, the Heat will have some difficult decisions to make this offseason as they hope to rejoin the NBA’s elite, and one decision will be how to replace Haslem’s leadership.
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