Udonis Haslem salutes team, city as Heat retire No. 40 jersey،
MIAMI — Udonis Haslem averaged 7.5 points and 6.6 rebounds during his career. He never made an All-Star team. I've never had a triple-double. I've never signed anything close to a max contract. He never even won Player of the Week.
The statistics may seem ordinary.
However, for the Miami Heat, he is a legend.
The Miami native, who spent his entire 20-year career with the Heat – part of three championship teams and serving as captain in 16 of his seasons – saw his now-retired No. 40 jersey, hoisted to the rafters Friday night, the culmination of a career that saw him go from undrafted to virtually unmatched.
He is one of only three players to spend a career of 20 years or more with a single franchise. Dirk Nowitzki of Dallas and Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers are the others.
“You all got money for my crying, didn't you? I know you all think I'm going to cry,” Haslem said. “Yeah, it's tough. It's tough. It's tough. Heat Nation, it's been an absolute honor, man.
And then he stopped to wipe his eyes, visibly full of tears behind the sunglasses he wore in a darkened arena. He was too emotional to read the remarks he had prepared, so he thanked virtually everyone in the organization, his family and his former teammates.
Haslem also paid tribute to all of Miami (area code 305).
“You have to hold back the 305,” he said. “Tonight we all celebrate 305.”
Haslem, who would like to eventually join the Heat's ownership group and currently works for the team as vice president of player development, is the sixth player to have a jersey retired by the Heat. The others: Chris Bosh (No. 1), Dwyane Wade (No. 3), Tim Hardaway (No. 10), Shaquille O'Neal (No. 32) and Alonzo Mourning (No. 33).
The Heat have already announced that they will eventually retire LeBron James' number 6. The Heat's five previous recipients of retired jerseys are already in the Basketball Hall of Fame. And Heat president Pat Riley said Haslem's legacy should also be celebrated.
“Udonis Haslem, his strength mattered and it mattered,” Riley said. “And that's one of the reasons why we hang his jersey here today. … Udonis Haslem is going to leave a very big mark.”
There were gifts galore: a $50,000 check to his foundation from the Heat Charitable Fund, a commemorative jersey, a replica retirement banner – and three new seats in the arena in honor of the late father, of Haslem's mother and stepmother.
Haslem — the franchise's all-time rebounding leader — was the NBA's oldest active player at 43 when he retired after last season. He also became the oldest player to appear in an NBA Finals game, two days shy of his 43rd birthday when the Heat faced the Nuggets last year in the title round.
He played a total of 65 regular season games over his last seven NBA seasons, and some experts have often wondered why Haslem is still an active player. The Heat scoffed at those criticisms, insisting that Haslem's value in the locker room, on the practice court and as a mentor was invaluable.
“He spent 20 years in an organization and helped everyone he could during those 20 years,” said Goran Dragic, one of several former teammates at Friday's ceremony. “He deserves this.”
Heat center Bam Adebayo, who succeeded Haslem as Miami captain this season, added: “He was the glue. A lot of people get lost in the stats, who has the most average, but he was the glue everyone together. …And I think like the glue guys are the most important guys on a team.”
Orlando coach Jamahl Mosley said he would have liked to have been at the ceremony, just to pay tribute to Haslem's tenacity and what he meant to the league.
“I think it just shows the impact you can have on an organization, on a community, on the players around you when you're not talking about yourself,” Mosley said. “And I think he embodies that more than anyone. It's about 'thermal culture,' who he is, him in the community and Dade County. It's who he is.”
There are larger-than-life reminders all over the arena of what Haslem has done in his 20 years. There are photos of him holding NBA championship trophies, photos of him with a trickle of blood coming out of his temple after a playoff showdown against Indiana, photos of him throwing a bucket of Gatorade at the Heat coach Erik Spoelstra to celebrate a title.
“The Miami Heat organization, not only will we always celebrate his legacy, but we will educate people about his legacy,” Spoelstra said. “And his legacy is important to the league as well. I hope that's recognized across the league…so this new generation of young players can understand what an all-time winner can look like.”
