U.D.’s No. 40 is retired and will never be worn again in Miami.
Udonis Haslem is the greatest Miami Heat ever and was the definition of Heat Culture.
He spent his entire 20-year career in Miami, the city he was born and raised in.
In his two decades with the Heat, Haslem experienced a lot.
He was part of the franchise’s first championship run with Shaquille O’Neal and Dwyane Wade, the Heatles’ reign, and the Heat’s fall and revival with Playoff Jimmy.
And the organization showed him love after he announced his retirement a few months ago by retiring his No. 40 jersey on Jan. 19, 2024, making him the sixth player in Heat history to have this accolade.
“You all got the money on me crying, don’t y’all? I know you all think I’m going to cry,” Haslem said. “Yeah, it’s hard. It’s hard. It’s hard. Heat Nation, it’s been an absolute honor, man.
“You’ve got to hold up the 305,” he said. “Tonight, we all celebrate, 305.”
Haslem had a great career with the Heat and his best year with them was in 2006, when he experienced all of the highs of being a professional basketball player.
Haslem’s Achievements in 2006
It started on April 14, 2006, in a game against the Philadelphia 76ers when he recorded a career-high 5 steals.
He led the team in steals that game as well as in rebounds when he grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds that led the Heat to blow out their opponents 104-85.
He continued his run of breaking personal records on Nov. 10, 2006, when Haslem scored a season-high 28 points in a game against the New Jersey Nets.
He was the second-highest scorer of the game (Wade scored 34 points) and made 71 percent of his shots.
The Heat won the game 113-106.
During the 2006-07 season, Haslem grabbed a lot of rebounds (averaged 8.3 per game).
But a week after scoring the most points he ever had in his NBA career, he grabbed more rebounds than he ever had that season with 17 rebounds, almost matching his regular-season-high of 18 boards in 2005.
He achieved this feat in a game against the Atlanta Hawks, where he also scored 21 points to help the Heat beat their opponents 93-88.
2006 was a great year for Haslem as he also won his (and the Miami Heat’s) first NBA championship title.
But though he didn’t record many more personal bests, he did achieve a lot more with the team by helping them get to the NBA Finals 5 more times and win 2 more rings.
Oh, and there was also that one time when he scored a game-high 24 points as a 42-year-old player in his final NBA season.
Final Thoughts
Haslem is a Heat legend and despite not ever being an All-Star or winning any individual awards like some of his teammates, I’m glad the Heat are giving him roses for his grit, tenacity and loyalty.
It’s a good message for the youth, as it shows you don’t need to have all the flash to be successful -you just need to work hard and have good character.
“Udonis Haslem, his force mattered and it counted,” Riley said. “And that’s one of the reasons why we’re hanging his jersey here today. … Udonis Haslem is going to leave a very big footprint.”
