As the primary proponent of the Miami Heat franchise and its long-living “Culture” mantra, Udonis Haslem can’t ask for more in his NBA career. He entered the league as an unknown undrafted cager, and is set to finish his career still bleeding red and black.
As such, he has high hopes that the next generation will look up to him and imitate what he did as a beloved player of one of the best teams in the league.
(h/t ESPN’s Israel Gutierrez):
“I want kids somewhere to say, ‘I want to have a career like Udonis Haslem — undrafted, worked for everything I got, won three championships, retired and went into ownership with the same organization I played with for 20 years.'”
Haslem has a fairy tale story with the Heat organization since 2003. As a rebounding machine and a muscling presence inside, he served as a vital piece of their three championship titles. More than that, he took a major financial sacrifice to land the iconic ‘Big Three’ of Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh in South Beach in last decade.
In the latter part of his career, Haslem took a backseat and let the young Heat players to take over. With his rich experience still flowing, he served as an instrumental inspiration for them to succeed and strive for the best.
His NBA story might not be a hall of fame-worthy, but no one else cannot deny the fact that Haslem had a wonderful ride in his professional basketball stint.
