Dwyane Wade provided an immediate reaction to the Miami Heat announcing that they will retire Udonis Haslem’s jersey.
Haslem — who is currently the Heat’s vice president of basketball development — spent all 20 seasons of his NBA career in Miami. He averaged 7.5 points, 6.6 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game while shooting 48.9 percent from the field across 879 total regular-season games with the Heat.
One of Haslem’s major accomplishments during his time with the Heat came when he earned a spot on the All-Rookie Second Team for the 2003-04 season along with Marquis Daniels of the Dallas Mavericks, T.J. Ford of the Milwaukee Bucks, Jarvis Hayes of the Washington Wizards and Josh Howard of the Mavericks.
As a rookie, he averaged 7.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game in 75 games played (24 starts). He also shot 45.9 percent from the field and 76.5 percent from the free-throw line.
While Haslem’s All-Rookie Second Team nod was an impressive achievement, he also won three titles during his stint with the Heat in 2006, 2012 and 2013. Haslem served as an important role player on all three title teams, but he arguably made the most impact for the 2005-06 iteration of Miami.
The 43-year-old appeared in 81 games for the Heat during the 2005-06 regular season and averaged 9.3 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.
Haslem and the Heat beat the Mavericks in six games in the 2006 NBA Finals to win the team its first title in franchise history. Miami seemed destined to lose the series at one point, seeing as how the Mavericks held a 2-0 series lead. But after dropping the first two games of the championship series, the Heat went on to win the next four.
The former big man’s last season as a member of the Heat came during the 2022-23 season. He only suited up in seven games for Miami during the regular season however.
Last season’s iteration of the Heat ended up making it all the way to the NBA Finals, where they lost to Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets in five games.
Heat fans should be excited to hear that the team will retire the jersey of one of the most memorable role players in franchise history.
