The end of the 2023 NBA Finals in June also marked the end of the career of Udonis Haslem. Undrafted out of Florida. Haslem joined the Heat in 2003, with whom he would spend the entirety of his 20-year career. Along the way, Haslem contributed to three championships, became the franchise’s leader in rebounds, and became the defining image of Heat culture.
Before the playoffs, Sports Illustrated asked Dwyane Wade—who entered the NBA with Haslem—to reflect on their 20-year friendship and Haslem’s career. Here’s Wade, in his own words, on the legacy of UD.
The first day I met UD, I came to training camp for Summer League the year I got drafted. I showed up two days later than everyone because of family things. I was the fifth pick so you could get away with stuff like that. Everybody was already there, and I remember my first day I was watching this guy go for it all. I’m talking about flying out of bounds getting the ball, running through people. I’ve never seen somebody play with that kind of intensity. So I asked somebody, “Who is that dude?” And they said, “Udonis Haslem.” And I was like, “The fat dude from Florida?!”
I couldn’t believe it was him, because the last time I had seen him was playing in college. And he was a great post player, but he was a big dude. Now I was seeing somebody who had transformed his body, he had braids, and he was just out there, dog. It was like a pit bull.
We were two young guys in training camp together. For most of my first couple months in Miami, it was just him and me together. We were working out, pushing each other, building a bond. We would go out to little bars and watch football games. I didn’t have a team, so I started watching the Canes with him. From there, we started sharing stories and realized we had so much in common, from our childhood to our upbringing to our families. When you’re around somebody every day, making sure you leave for practice on time, making sure you leave together, all these things, you build a relationship. That’s how it started for us.
In the 2006 Finals, he was incredible. Especially with the kids, everybody wants to do the sexy stuff. They want to do the stuff that gets the highlights, gets people talking about you, gets your name written up. That‘s what I did. I did the sexy stuff. I scored 30. I dunked on people, I did all that. But Udonis did the stuff that’s not sexy. The stuff that no one wants to do. The extra effort. You guard the best player, but you may only get one or two shots. You may touch the ball one or two times, but I need you to run this pick-and-roll and make sure I get open. He did all the stuff no one signs up for, and he did it in such a fashion that we could feel the importance of it.
Of course, we had Shaq [O’Neal], we had GP [Gary Payton], we had Toine [Antoine Walker], but when it came down to it, the Udonis Haslems of the world are the reason we won the championship. Guarding Dirk [Nowitzki], a guy that can get 20 to 30 shots off wherever he wants? That’s tough, mentally and physically. UD was up for the challenge, and he never complained.
In the summer of 2010 I was on the phone with my agent, and we were talking about everything that was going down, how much money I was getting versus the money Chris [Bosh] and LeBron [James] were getting. And in the midst of it I asked him about UD, and my agent told me things were not looking good for him. So I got off the phone and called UD right away, and when I called him he was actually on his way to the arena to tell Pat Riley, “Thank you for everything. But I got another offer that’s more meaningful for my family and me.” As I talked to UD, I could hear the disappointment in his voice. He had built the culture here, and now we have to lose him? He had to leave because of financial reasons? That didn’t sit well with me, so I reached out to Chris and Bron right away and said here’s the situation. This doesn’t feel right. Let’s do what we need to do to make sure he stays here. And everybody—without even knowing him—was in immediately. And because that was my brother, I told Chris and Bron I would take the biggest hit. Because it didn’t matter if we won championships, it wasn’t going to feel complete without Udonis being a part of this s---.
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It’s hard, man. When you come from the community me and UD come from, you may not have heard your dad or your uncles or any man in your life say, “I love you.” It was just the culture we grew up in. With UD, I was picking fights, and he was jumping in. Taking hits for me. Taking fines for me. I never had that before. That was a different level of a brother for me. We built a respect for each other; I think Udonis knows I would have done anything for him. Our relationship was never one of give-give.
And being in a playoff series with Udonis? I would never worry about one thing, because I knew I had a dog with me. And if anything broke down, I knew I had that guy nobody wanted to f--- with.
In the 2012 Indiana series, Udonis had gotten hit in the face earlier. It was a very physical series. When he got hit in the face and started bleeding, he was just shaking his head like, “All right, all right, motherf---er.” The hit that Tyler Hansbrough put on me, if you go back and watch, that was a f---ed hit. And I’ve done some hits. I f---ed some people up. So I can’t be one to ever complain. But I was a little dizzy after that one. Udonis saw it. Then he saw the high five between Hansbrough and one of his teammates. And I remember going to the huddle and telling UD to leave it alone, that it was fine. And he just had this look on his face like, “No, it ain’t.” And then the basketball gods gave us a pick-and-roll; they threw it back to Hansbrough, and Udonis was the low man. What are you supposed to do? [Editors’ note: Haslem was called for a flagrant foul for striking Hansbrough in the face. He was suspended one game.] That’s playoff basketball, and that’s UD’s mentality.
But he’s also always been that protector for the community. He’s always been a hope. He touched Miami in so many different ways. There was not a time when I went out in the club back in the day that I didn’t have somebody in the club walk up to me and say, “Yo, I’m Udonis’s boy. You’re good.” Whenever I was anywhere, there were people that were Udonis’s family who protected me. From the moment I got in the club to the moment I got in the car. He had his hands in every part of Miami. He’s Mr. Miami, and that’s how it should be for him.
Udonis and I have known each other for 20 years now. When my daughter Kaavia was born, it was a no-brainer for me to make UD her godfather. Kaav has two fathers in a sense, two men she can look up to and be proud of, and knows she can be protected in different ways. Watching him be a godfather, man, he’s a way better godfather than I am. I need to take notes. He’s so involved, always on FaceTime, he’s always sending videos. When we’re in Miami he makes sure to spend time with her. He really dedicates his time to the people he loves. She’s even softened him up.
I don’t have a lot of 20-year relationships. To have that bond with UD, we talk to each other on the phone for hours, we are sharing things and being vulnerable, it’s just different than any relationship I have. That’s my big brother. As we go through this world, we are locked in for a lifetime. And there’s a comfort in that. Outside of my family and wife, he’s the first person I chose for myself.
He has had the greatest career in Miami Heat history. No one thought that would be the case when he first walked into that building. The franchise has had Shaq, Tim Hardaway, Alonzo [Mourning], LeBron, Chris Bosh—a line of Hall of Famers. But there’s one that stands above us all. That’s Udonis Haslem. How damn cool is it that kids growing up will want to have a career like his?
