UD: 30 Years of Heat

Udonis Haslem

Udonis Haslem is a 6'8" power forward, the all-time Heat leader with 14 seasons played, and the longest tenured player on the team. Born in Miami, FL on June 9th, 1980, he played for Miami High before playing four seasons with the Florida Gators. He averaged 16.4 points and 7.9 rebounds per game through his final two seasons before graduating with the Class of 2002. After going undrafted, he ballooned to north of 300 pounds, and subsequently failed to make the Atlanta Hawks out of camp in 2002. He played the 2002-03 season in France, with Chalon-sur-Saone instead.

After losing around 70 pounds in his year abroad, he earned a spot in the NBA summer league, making the most of it and ending up with a free agent contract to join Miami. As a rookie, he played in 75 games, starting 24 times and playing in an average of 23.9 minutes per contest. He shot 45.9%, scoring 7.3 points with 6.3 rebounds (team third) on an average night. He finished in double figures 22 times, earning double doubles on half of those occasions. On November 3rd, in a 103-93 loss to the Dallas Mavericks, he sunk eight-of-12 shots for a team high 20 points with 12 rebounds. He came off the bench to hit nine-of-12 field goals on January 20th, scoring 18 points with 17 rebounds in an 86-84 loss to the Boston Celtics. On March 10th, he scored 15 points with 13 rebounds as the Heat lost to the New Orleans Hornets, 95-84. After starting out the season 0-7 and at one point 11 games below .500, Miami won 17 of their last 21 games to finish with a 42-40 record and the fourth seed. Miami defeated the Hornets in seven games before losing to the Indiana Pacers in six. Haslem appeared in all 13 games, averaging 3.6 points with 3.4 rebounds.

2004-05 would see Haslem start in each of his 80 appearances, shooting a career best 54% in 33.4 minutes per game. He scored 10.9 points (team fifth) with 9.1 rebounds (team second) and 1.4 assists per game. He scored 10 or more points 47 times, collecting at least 10 rebounds in 23 of those. In a 101-96 win vs the Milwaukee Bucks on December 8th, he led both teams with 20 points and with 13 rebounds, pitching in six assists. He shot seven-for-nine from the field, scoring 17 points with 12 boards and three steals in a 106-96 victory over the Hawks on January 28th. He finished with 13 points, 15 rebounds, five assists and three blocks on April 15th, as the Heat came up short against the Boston Celtics, 101-99. Miami's 59-23 record earned them the top overall seed in the East. Once the postseason started, Miami won their first eight contests, sweeping the New Jersey Nets and the Washington Wizards before losing in seven to the Detroit Pistons. Haslem put up 9.1 points and 9.9 rebounds per contest, appearing in all 15 games.

Haslem again started 80 games in 2005-06, appearing one time off the bench. He shot 50.8% from the field for 9.3 points (team fifth) per game, with 7.8 rebounds (team second) and 1.2 assists. He reached double digits 36 times for points and 22 times for rebounds. On 14 occasions, he did it on the same night. On November 9th, in a 95-90 loss to the Pacers, he hit eight-for 11 shots for 19 points with 11 rebounds and three steals. He hit all six of his field goal attempts, scoring 15 points with nine rebounds on April 11th in a win over the Toronto Raptors, 106-97. Three days later, in a 104-85 victory against the Philadelphia 76ers, he scored 24 points with 14 rebounds and five steals. Miami went 52-30 through the regular season. In the playoffs, Haslem played in 22 of 23 games as Miami won their first NBA title. Haslem averaged nine points and seven rebounds through the postseason tournament.

In 2006-07, Haslem averaged 10.7 points (team fifth) per game on 49.2% shooting in 31.4 minutes. He started 79 times, collecting a team leading 8.3 boards with 1.2 helpers per contest. He scored 10 or more points 44 times, with 21 double doubles. On November 5th, in a 107-98 victory over the 76ers, he sunk seven-of-11 shots for 17 points with 16 rebounds and four helpers. Five days later, he scored 28 points on 10-of-14 shooting as the Heat downed the New Jersey Nets, 113-106. In a 92-77 win over the Minnesota TimberWolves on March 30th, he went nine-for-12, scoring 19 points with 14 boards. Miami won the Southeast Division title with a 44-38 record. The Bulls swept Miami in four games. Haslem totaled 30 points and 21 rebounds.

2007-08 would see Haslem start in 48 out of his 49 appearances, playing a career high 36.8 minutes per game. He also scored a career high 12 points per game on 46.7% shooting, with nine rebounds and 1.4 assists. He put up 11 double doubles on the the season, and helped the Heat go 10-39 in his appearances. In a 106-103 loss to the Pacers on December 15th, he shot 10-for-14, scoring 24 points with seven rebounds. Two days later, in a 91-87 win over the Wolves, He finished with 18 points, 16 rebounds, and three steals. On January 16th, he scored 15 points on seven-of-nine shooting, along with 12 rebounds as the Celtics beat down the Heat, 126-96. For the second time in team history, the Heat posted a 15-67 record.

Haslem started 75 times in 2008-09, playing 34.1 minutes per game. He scored 10.6 points (team fifth) on 51.8% shooting, with 8.2 rebounds (team second) and 1.1 assists per game. In the season opener on October 29th, he scored 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting with 10 rebounds as the Heat lost to the New York Knicks, 120-115. On December 1st, he shot eight-for-11, totaling 21 points with 13 rebounds in a 130-129 overtime win against the Golden State Warriors. In a 102-85 win against the Milwaukee Bucks on March 28th, he hit eight-of-nine shots for 16 points, along with 12 rebounds. The Heat earned the fifth seed with a 43-39 record before losing to the Hawks in seven games. Haslem averaged eight points and nine rebounds through the series.

In 2009-10, Haslem appeared 78 times off the bench, playing 27.9 minutes per appearance. He scored 9.9 points per game (team fourth) on 49.4% shooting, grabbing a team leading 8.1 boards in the process. He helped the team to a 45-33 record while on the floor, accruing a 45-33 record. In a 95-87 victory over the Bulls on November 1st, he scored 19 points on nine-of-13 shooting, collecting 11 rebounds. He scored a season and game high 28 points on 12-of-20 shooting on November 14th, grabbing 12 rebounds as the Heat defeated the Nets, 81-80. On December 11th, he went nine-for-10 from the field for 22 points and 10 boards in a 106-93 loss to the Dallas Mavericks. Miami went 47-35, but lost in the opening round of the postseason to Boston in five games. Haslem appeared in each game, totaling 30 points and 37 rebounds.

2010-11 would see Haslem appear 13 times off the bench before tearing a ligament in his foot. He played a total of 345 minutes in his short season, totaling 104 points and 106 rebounds. On November 11th he scored 21 points on nine-of-10 shooting with 10 rebounds in a loss to the Celtics, 112-107. He returned to the floor in Miami's game four, 98-90 win over the Celtics in the conference semifinals on May 9th. He played 290 minutes over 12 playoff games, totaling 63 points and 54 rebounds. Miami made it to the NBA Finals before losing to the Mavericks in six games.

Haslem started 10 games out of 64 in 2011-12, scoring six points with 7.3 rebounds (team third) in just over a half per game. He shot a career low 42.3% and collected four double doubles on the season. In a 117-104 loss to the Denver Nuggetson January 13th, he scored 12 points with 11 rebounds. In a 107-91 victory over the Cavs, he scored 14 points with eight rebounds. He finished with 11 points and 14 boards on March 1st, in a 107-93 triumph against the Portland Trail Blazers. Miami finished with a lockout-abbreviated 46-20 record before defeating the Knicks in five games, the Pacers in six, Boston in seven, and the Oklahoma City Thunder in five to claim the NBA title, Haslem's second. He appeared in 22 of Miami's 23 games, totaling 106 points and 141 rebounds.

In 2012-13, Haslem started 59 times, playing 18.9 minutes per games and appearing off the bench 16 times. He scored 3.9 points per game on 51.4% field goal shooting, adding 5.4 boards (team third). He finished in double figures six times. The Heat racked up a 66-16 record on their way to a second title in a row, and Haslem's third. He saved his best for Miami's postseason matchup with the Pacers. In game three he scored 17 points on eight-of-nine shooting with seven rebounds in a 114-96 win. In game five, he duplicated his performance from the field, finishing instead with 16 points and three rebounds.

For the last four seasons, Haslem has appeared in an ever-decreasing capacity as the sixth, seventh, and eighth man off the bench in some situations, playing in a total of 161 regular season games and scoring a total of 524 points with 544 rebounds and 31 blocks. The role of elder statesman of the Heat suits him just fine, and he recently signed another one-year contract for the veteran’s minimum to just that effect. Ranking sixth on the all-time, all-Heat countdown, He’s just four GameScore points behind fifth place and just 42 short of fourth. Of course, you’ve probably got the entire top five in your minds right now, but you’ll have to keep checking back to see how it all panned out.

Stat Line: 830 games, 25.7 minutes, .491 field goals, .756 free throws, 7.8 points, 6.9 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 0.5 steals, 13.0 PER, 51.0 Win Shares.

Cumulative GameScore: 6149.1