After 20 glorious seasons with the same franchise, Heat forward Udonis Haslem is finally calling it a career.
The 42-year-old Miami native suited up for his final regular-season game on Sunday, and the team fittingly held a pre-game ceremony to give the home fans a chance to applaud Haslem for his contributions to the franchise. Teammate Bam Adebayo took the opportunity to give Haslem the perfect gift to send him into retirement.
Bam arranged for a special present to be brought out for UD before his last regular season home game 😂 pic.twitter.com/1olDfjZq5s
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) April 9, 2023
Bam Adebayo gifted Udonis Haslem a rocking chair 😂pic.twitter.com/q2o4GvaSty
— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) April 9, 2023
Haslem has taken on more of a player-coach role in recent years. Prior to Sunday, he appeared in just six games all season and played in only 24 games over the past four years. Haslem got plenty of minutes early against the Magic on Sunday, treating the crowd to 13 first-quarter points and capping things with an electric alley-oop to finish a fast break.
UDONIS HASLEM ALLEY-OOP 😱
— NBA (@NBA) April 9, 2023
HE DROPPED 13 PTS IN THE FIRST.
📺: Live on the NBA App pic.twitter.com/LMXKHPxKs3
The Heat put together a star-studded video tribute for Haslem, with appearances and well-wishes from LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Shaquille O’Neal, Gary Payton and many other former teammates.
Haslem grew up in Miami and played college basketball at Florida. After going undrafted in 2002 and spending a year playing professionally in France, he signed with the Heat in ’03. Haslem was a member of three NBA championship teams, and is the longest-tenured player in franchise history.
