Udonis Haslem has spent almost two decades with the Miami Heat organization, and he has accomplished a lot.
The veteran is a three-time NBA champion, and two of his rings came during Miami’s run with its Big 3 of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
Recently, Haslem made a very bold statement, claiming that the Big 3 wouldn’t have won “none of those rings” without his contributions.
He made the claim during a conversation with Tyler R. Tynes of GQ.
“S—, I was almost outta here — they ain’t have no money left,” Haslem said regarding the offseason in which the Heat’s Big 3 came together. “I was about gone. They wasn’t saving enough for me. They just wanted the big boys. They wasn’t thinking about me, the only one who was was [Wade]. He understood my importance to this city and franchise and thank God he did because it paid off. I don’t care what nobody say, I had my moments and we don’t win none of those rings without me. I did my job and that’s all you can do: Stay ready so you don’t have to get ready. I had some critical moments where I had to step in and hold down the fort. Thank God [Wade] stood up and said, ‘we need this motherf—–.’ Because sometimes people get caught up in dollar signs and what makes ‘cents’ doesn’t always make sense.
“You can surround guys who drive the bus, who sit on the bus, but if you ain’t got somebody who can change the tires and the oil, your bus ain’t moving. You need a guy like me: who will do the dirty work, take that charge, do the things that won’t show up on the statsheet but it equals winning. [Wade] understood that, LeBron understood that, [Bosh] understood that. If they didn’t, it’s no way those guys take less money and cut off a piece of their pie for me to stay. They didn’t know me. They didn’t have to do that. But they understood what I brought to the table and I was able to deliver.”
Haslem is clearly proud of the contributions he brought to the table during Miami’s title runs with its Big 3. Still, his comments might surprise some fans.
Haslem has career averages of 7.6 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. He has been with the Heat organization since the 2003-04 season. He won titles with Miami in 2006, 2012 and 2013.
At this stage in the 41-year-old’s career, he serves as more of a veteran leader than anything else. He rarely gets into games at his current age.
