Heat announces plans to retire Udonis Haslem’s No. 40 jersey next month. Here are the details
It was only a matter of time before the Miami Heat retired Udonis Haslem’s jersey. On Friday, the team announced it will happen in January.
The Heat revealed plans to retire Haslem’s No. 40 jersey on Jan. 19 when the Heat hosts the Atlanta Hawks. Haslem’s jersey retirement ceremony will take place at halftime of the game just a few days after the Heat hosts Dwyane Wade Hall of Fame Night during its Jan. 14 home game against the Charlotte Hornets.
“It’s about a great legacy, a Thank You moment that has been earned over 20 years of being an incredible championship player and most importantly, the best leader,” Heat president Pat Riley said of Haslem’s upcoming jersey retirement in a statement issued by the team. “He’s going to have his day and I can’t wait to see his jersey hang in the rafters.”
Haslem, who retired at the end of last season following a 20-year NBA career, will become just the sixth Heat player to have his jersey retired, joining Alonzo Mourning, Tim Hardaway, Shaquille O’Neal, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade. But Haslem will be the only one on that list who doesn’t make the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
That’s because Haslem’s Heat career was a unique one.
Haslem is the Heat’s all-time leading rebounder and also ranks among the organization’s all-time leaders in games played (second), minutes (second) and field goals made (fifth). But it’s his longevity and leadership that turned him into a Heat icon.
Haslem, a Miami native who went to Miami High before playing at the University of Florida, spent each of his 20 NBA seasons with his hometown Heat after going undrafted in 2002. He went on to play a role on each of the franchise’s three championship teams in 2006, 2012 and 2013 while becoming the only undrafted player in NBA history to lead a franchise in total rebounds.
Haslem is only the third player to spend an entire NBA career lasting at least 20 seasons with one team. The others on that short list are Dirk Nowitzki (21 seasons with Dallas Mavericks) and Kobe Bryant (20 seasons with Los Angeles Lakers), and Haslem is the only one to do it in his hometown.
Haslem also spent the final 16 seasons of his playing career as a Heat captain, taking on more of a leadership role as his on-court role diminished during the final phase of his career. He appeared in just 65 regular-season games during his final seven seasons.
Only a few months into retirement, Haslem has already found a new role in the organization. Haslem was hired last month to be the Heat’s vice president of basketball development.
On the Heat’s press release announcing Haslem’s hiring, it lists the responsibilities that come with his new front office role as “being a resource to the coaching staff, mentoring both Heat and Skyforce [the Heat’s G League affiliate] players as well as representing the organization in the community and in business endeavors.”
And Haslem will soon have his Heat jersey hanging in the Kaseya Center rafters.
“I’m definitely looking forward to the celebration and honoring UD,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “He is the face of our culture now. Everything that we stand for, he lived it, breathed it and bled it for all those years. That’s why he has so much respect around this association, in our building, in the entire 305 and this district. He’s done it all on the court and off the court.
“That will be a really cool night. It will be good for everybody to see that and I think the rest of the league will acknowledge that as well, which is cool.”
This story was originally published December 22, 2023 at 1:30 PM.
