Udonis Haslem wore a few different hats over his lengthy Miami Heat career.
Pure scorer was not one of them.
The veteran big man made his career as a threat around the rim before settling into more of a mentor role in the waning years. Because of that, playing time has been tough for Haslem to come by these last few season, something he seemed fine with.
But he’s going to call it a career after this season, meaning Sunday’s regular season finale was the likely last time we’ll see the 42-year-old check into an NBA game. The Heat made it worth his while, playing Haslem nearly 25 minutes. He had 17 attempts from the field, including seven from three-point territory, finishing with 24 points, three rebounds and one block.
It was a deserved sendoff, especially given how much of his life Haslem has committed to the Heat organization.
Among those in attendance were one of Haslem’s longtime teammates, Heat legend Dwyane Wade. Apparently, Haslem’s outpouring of offense was thanks to Wade firing him up before the game.
“D-Wade was putting pressure on me,” Haslem said Monday in an exclusive interview on The Joe Rose Show. “He was like listen, Kobe (Bryant) went 60 (in his final game), I had a triple-double, what are you gonna do? I was like 'I damn sure I ain’t going for 60.'”
It might not have been a Kobe-level performance, but it was a solid farewell for Haslem.
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