Miami Heat veteran forward Udonis Haslem will have Section 305 at Miami-Dade Arena dedicated to him by the franchise.
Haslem, who is retiring at the end of the 2022-23 season, has played for the Heat since the 2003-04 campaign. He has embodied everything about the franchise, Heat culture and what it means to represent Miami.
“It’s going to end up being a really cool in-arena aspect that’s going to live on forever,” Heat executive vice president Michael McCullough said. “But because he’s such a man of the people and he represents the 305, it worked out really, really well for us to be able to take that section and really create this Udonis tribute section.”
This is just one of four events that the Heat are putting on to honor Haslem as a part of their “4 Days of 40” tribute to the team’s longest-tenured member.
It will begin on March 23 with a digital content series designed to show Haslem’s impact on the franchise and Miami. On March 24, the franchise plans to launch “The UD Collection” as part of Court Culture, the team’s in-house lifestyle brand.
The section tribute will be on March 25, which will also be “UD Night” for the team’s home game against the Brooklyn Nets. Finally, on March 26 the Heat plan to honor Haslem at the team’s annual Family Festival.
It’s great to see the Heat pulling out all the stops to honor Haslem and his impact on the franchise.
The Heat have kept Haslem as a member of their roster for several seasons even though he hasn’t played a ton of minutes. The veteran is a terrific mentor and leader for the young guys in the locker room, and he knows what it takes to win, as he’s been a part of three NBA championships with the Heat.
For his career, Haslem averages 7.5 points, 6.6 rebounds and 0.3 blocks per game while shooting 48.9 percent from the field. This season, he has appeared in six games for the Heat, making one start.
Haslem’s own personal section will be one way that he is forever immortalized as part of the Heat franchise.
Miami, which currently holds the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference, would love to send the veteran forward into retirement with a fourth title in the 2022-23 season. Right now, the Heat are in the league’s play-in tournament field, but they could make up some ground with a strong finish to this season.
