As Heat’s Udonis Haslem turns 40, here’s a Q&A with Haslem on his favorite city — Miami
Udonis Haslem spends most NBA games on the Miami Heat bench in his 17th NBA season, but he has embraced a new role.
Haslem, who turned 40 on Tuesday, is a leader in the locker room and community. And he has spent the past few years working to master the responsibilities that come with that role.
With the COVID-19 pandemic forcing the NBA to suspend the season on March 11, Haslem has dedicated a lot of his work during the past three months to South Florida. Haslem, who grew up in Liberty City and attended Miami High, has used his platform to help those in need and unite the community in a critical moment for the United States that includes a health crisis and protests calling for systematic changes to end racial profiling and police brutality.
“At this stage of the game, I’m not really being judged by how many baskets I’m making,” said Haslem, who now has a chance to join Juwan Howard as the only ones to play in a game for the Heat in their 40s. “I’m being judged by the impact that I can make on the community and I’m being judged by the impact that I can make on helping my teammates win and it’s not by making baskets. For me, I’m not going to just fade away because I’m not playing minutes anymore. I’m going to continue to impact this community and I’m going to continue to impact my organization, and help move the needle in both areas.”
Haslem still isn’t sure what he will do following this season — retire or return for an 18th season. But whichever route Haslem takes, he knows he wants to remain an active voice in the South Florida community.
Here’s a recent Miami Herald Q&A with Haslem. The subject? Miami, of course.
Q: What’s your favorite thing about Miami?
A: “The weather. Granted we get hurricanes and people probably think I’m crazy when I say the weather. But we can actually literally break out our grill and barbecue on Christmas. There are very few places where you can barbecue on Christmas. I love the fact that I can go outside on my grill on Christmas and barbecue.”
Q: Three Miami Hurricanes football national championships in a span of 10 years or one Miami Dolphins Super Bowl in your lifetime. Which one are you choosing?
A: “Man! You went straight from the easy stuff to the hard stuff. You know what, I’ll have to take the Dolphins because I’ve never seen it. I’ve already seen the Hurricanes win. I haven’t been around for a Dolphins Super Bowl. I want that. I want that bad.”
Q: On a scale of 1-10, how upset do you get when you’re watching a football game from Hard Rock Stadium on TV and they refer to that area as South Beach?
A: “Oh, I get extremely upset. Extremely upset. Extremely upset. A 10! I think people always associate Miami with South Beach. I try to tell people all the time, ‘Hey man, listen, what you see on TV, that ain’t Miami, bro. Let me explain that to you.’”
Q: Who is your favorite current music artist from Miami?
A: “Wow. I got a lot of them and they’re all my friends. You’re trying to make me lose some relationships. Man, you know what, I’ll say all of them. I really love all these guys and these artists. But I will say the one that has had the biggest impact and I love what he’s doing and we talk every now and then, I love what Pitbull is doing with the SLAM Academy [charter school] and just with the kids. That’s big. But I love all these guys — Flo Rida, Trick Daddy, Pitbull, Rick Ross, and even the younger generation. But what Pit is doing definitely stands out to me with the Slam Academy and everything he’s doing with the youth.”
Q: Who is your favorite Miami music artist of all time?
A: “You got to go with Trick Daddy. I’ve known Trick since I was 17 years old. It’s a different respect for Trick. He has always showed me love, even as a 17-year-old kid. It’s almost like an OG type thing. When people call me the OG, he’s like the OG to me.”
Q: What’s the biggest misconception about Miami?
A: “That South Beach is Miami. That’s the biggest misconception. People don’t understand that South Beach is not Miami. South Beach is South Beach and Miami is Miami. I tell people all the time, and it’s not a joke when I keep saying, I had never been to South Beach until I got to the NBA. I didn’t even know where to go on the other side of the bridge. I never went over there. Also, I hate when you meet people and you’ll be like, ‘Where you from?’ And they say, ‘Miami.’ You’ll be like, ‘What part?’ And they say, ‘Miramar.’ I’ll be like, ‘What are you talking about, man?’”
Q: Where do you take new Heat teammates to show them different parts of Miami?
A: “I take them to the local restaurants. Sometimes I take them to Chef Creole on 54th Street for good Haitian food. Every now and then, I’ll take them to Tipico to get some Dominican food. But I always take them to the local spots. I always take them to the local spots so they can feel the culture and they can feel the real Miami and the people. It’s always going to be like a local spot in one of these inner cities.
“I remember when [James Johnson] and those guys first came down. The first thing we did was I called my Dominicans and we went over there and we sat down, and we had a huge Dominican meal. When Bam [Adebayo] first came down, I took him around and we hung out. I took him to meet some of my friends and different things. Bam has actually been to my stepmom’s house and ate dinner with us. I don’t take them to the fancy, flashy places that people might hear about or you might see on Yelp that has a 55-star rating. I don’t do all that. I take them to get the culture and the people.”
Q: Is Miami a football town or basketball town?
A: “Basketball town. One thing about us is we got a lot of pride down here. If the Dolphins win the Super Bowl, then yeah it’s their time. Then we got to come back and get it back. It’s going to go back and forth. But it’s friendly competition. It’s all love. We’re just making each other better.”
Q: Growing up, who was your favorite South Florida athlete?
A: “Jim ‘Crash’ Jensen. You remember Jim Jensen who played for the Dolphins? Jim ‘Crash’ Jensen, No. 11. He literally played everything for the Dolphins. He didn’t get much credit, but he was long snapper, he was quarterback, he was the punter, he was wedge buster, tight end, wide receiver. Jim Jensen is my favorite Dolphin of all time. He literally played every position on the field. Whatever the coach told him to do, he went out there and did it just to help the team win. You got to be damn near crazy to be the wedge buster. Like, nobody wants to be the wedge buster on the kickoff.”
Q: Does Jim Jensen remind you of yourself as a player?
A: “Yeah. At that time when I was watching him growing up, I didn’t think about it. But now I do find myself kind of relating to a guy like Jim Jensen, who pretty much does whatever it takes for the team to win and puts himself in harm’s way to get the job done.”
Q: Favorite Miami event — Art Basel, Ultra, Calle Ocho, Rolling Loud, etc.?
A: “I guess Art Basel. Art Basel is the only one I somewhat entertain. I don’t go to that Rolling Loud and I don’t go to Calle Ocho. It would have to be for me Art Basel. Art Basel is the only one that I picked a few events to catch up with a few people that I know and appreciate. I go out and enjoy the vibe a little bit during Art Basel. But that’s the one I actually engage in.”
Q: What do you tell people who say you can’t be Mr. 305 because you currently live in Broward County?
A: “Oh, I don’t even entertain them people. Listen, y’all know who the man in the city is no matter where I stay at. That doesn’t matter to me. What I represent and where I’m from and who I am has nothing to do with where I am now. I could have easily packed up and moved to Atlanta or L.A. or somewhere else like that. I’m right up the street from my people and I’m still impacting my community. If you’re going to focus on where I stay and not the impact that I have on my community, then we don’t speak the same language anyway.”
Haslem’s “Power Forward Through Hunger” initiative addresses food insecurity for City of Miami residents experiencing job loss and economic need because of the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of the initiative, Haslem is offering a sweepstakes that includes prizes like autographed memorabilia, personal food deliveries, the chance to join him on Instagram live, and the grand prize winner will have the opportunity to choose between a round of golf with Haslem, a Heat VIP experience, a workout session with Haslem, or a pizza-making session with Haslem at his 800 Degrees restaurant.
All proceeds from the sweepstakes fundraising efforts will go to “Power Forward Through Hunger” on behalf of the Udonis Haslem Children’s Foundation. Enter here for a chance to win: letsengage.com/popup/power-forward-through-hunger.
This story was originally published June 9, 2020 at 11:30 AM.
