Udonis Haslem
 | |
| No. 40 – Miami Heat | |
|---|---|
| Position | Power forward |
| Personal information | |
| Born | June 9, 1980 Miami, Florida |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) |
| Listed weight | 955 lb (433 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Miami |
| College | Florida |
| NBA draft | 2002: undrafted |
| Playing career | 2002–present |
| Career history | |
| 2002–2003 | Chalon-sur-Saône (France) |
| 2003–present | Miami Heat |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| Stats at NBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball Reference | |
Udonis Johneal Haslem (born June 9, 1980) is an American professional basketball player who plays power forward for the Miami Heat of the NBA. He is listed as 6 ft 8 in and 235 lb.
Early years
Haslem was born in Miami, Florida. He attended Wolfson High School in Jacksonville, Florida, then Miami Senior High School in Miami.[1] He helped lead Miami High to state titles in 1997 and 1998 (the last of three in a row), playing alongside another future NBA player, Steve Blake.
However, an investigation by the Miami New Times revealed that Haslem, Blake and several other players circumvented residency requirements. The New Times reported that while he claimed to live in Miami, he actually lived in Miramar, in Broward County. His official school address was an efficiency apartment owned by a longtime Miami High booster, which was also a violation of Florida High School Athletic Association rules.[2][3] As a result, Miami High was stripped of its 1998 title and ordered to forfeit its entire schedule.
College career
Haslem accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach Billy Donovan's Floria Gators basketball team from 1998 to 2002, while majoring in leisure service management. As the Gators' starting center for four years, he was part of Donovan's 1998 recruiting class that raised the national prominence of the Florida Gators basketball program, and included future Miami Heat teammate Mike Miller. Fans would yell the letter "U" in unison after his big plays. His sophomore season saw the team advance to the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship game, before falling to the Michigan State Spartans. The Gators received NCAA tournament invitations all four years he was with the team–the first time in the program's history. Haslem ranks third in school history in points scored (1,782) and tenth in rebounds (831).
Professional career
After leaving Florida in 2002, his weight ballooned in excess of 300 pounds and he became a late-preseason roster cut with the Atlanta Hawks. Haslem then signed with Chalon-Sur-Saône, a professional team in France. While averaging 16.1 points and 9.4 rebounds per game, Haslem also managed to lose 70 pounds over the course of that year, which resulted in his earning a spot in the NBA summer leagues.
He was signed by the Miami Heat as an undrafted rookie in 2003. As a rookie, he backed up Brian Grant and provided rebounding and defense. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team, and played in the rookie challenge during All-Star weekend. He assumed the starting power forward position in 2004 after teammate Lamar Odom was traded as part of a package that was shipped to the Los Angeles Lakers in a deal that brought superstar center Shaquille O'Neal back to Florida. He was helpful yet again, being a tough rebounder and developing an effective 15 foot jump-shot. He has been called a perfect complement to O'Neal's style of play, and was critical in the Heat's playoff run to the Eastern Conference Finals against the Detroit Pistons. Following the season his two-year contract was renewed after upping his rookie averages of 7.3 points and 6.3 rebounds to 10.9 and 9.1 in his second season. In 2005–2006, he again was the starting power forward. Despite increased pressure from O'Neal battling injuries and the acquisition of three-time All-Star Antoine Walker, Haslem retained the starting spot.
Haslem won an NBA championship with the Heat in 2006, scoring 17 points in the title-clinching game 6 against the Dallas Mavericks.
On April 22, 2006, in a first-round playoff game against the Chicago Bulls, Haslem was ejected for throwing his mouthpiece at referee Joe Crawford. Haslem had been upset that a foul was not called on a play on the Bulls' end of the court. After the game, he claimed that he had not deliberately aimed at Crawford, and that the mouthpiece's trajectory was an accident. He apologized to fans and to his teammates, and stated that he would also apologize to Crawford when the opportunity arose. The NBA reviewed the incident, and they suspended Haslem for game 2 of the series against the Bulls on April 24, 2006.[4]
On November 10, 2006, Haslem scored a career-high 28 points on 10-for-14 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds in a 113–106 win over the Nets.
When Shaquille O'Neal was traded and Alonzo Mourning went down with an injury, Haslem played the center position during the 2007–08 season.
On July 12, 2010, Haslem re-signed with the Heat. He would have received nearly $10 million more if he were to sign with the Dallas Mavericks or Denver Nuggets.[5]
NBA career statistics
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003–04 | Miami | 75 | 24 | 23.9 | .459 | .000 | .765 | 6.3 | .7 | .4 | .3 | 7.3 |
| 2004–05 | Miami | 80 | 80 | 33.4 | .540 | .000 | .791 | 9.1 | 1.4 | .8 | .5 | 10.9 |
| 2005–06 | Miami | 81 | 80 | 30.8 | .508 | .000 | .789 | 7.8 | 1.2 | .6 | .2 | 9.3 |
| 2006–07 | Miami | 79 | 79 | 31.4 | .492 | .000 | .680 | 8.3 | 1.2 | .6 | .3 | 10.7 |
| 2007–08 | Miami | 49 | 48 | 36.8 | .467 | .000 | .810 | 9.0 | 1.4 | .8 | .4 | 12.0 |
| 2008–09 | Miami | 75 | 75 | 34.1 | .518 | .000 | .753 | 8.2 | 1.1 | .6 | .3 | 10.6 |
| 2009–10 | Miami | 78 | 0 | 27.9 | .494 | .000 | .762 | 8.1 | .7 | .4 | .3 | 9.9 |
| 2010–11 | Miami | 13 | 0 | 26.5 | .512 | .000 | .800 | 8.2 | .5 | .5 | .2 | 8.0 |
| Career | 530 | 386 | 30.8 | .500 | .000 | .763 | 8.1 | 1.1 | .6 | .3 | 10.0 |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003–04 | Miami | 13 | 0 | 15.3 | .394 | .000 | .677 | 3.4 | .2 | .4 | .2 | 3.6 |
| 2004–05 | Miami | 15 | 15 | 36.2 | .491 | .000 | .739 | 10.0 | 1.0 | .5 | .4 | 9.2 |
| 2005–06 | Miami | 22 | 22 | 29.5 | .493 | .000 | .683 | 7.4 | .8 | .6 | .3 | 8.6 |
| 2006–07 | Miami | 4 | 4 | 25.8 | .480 | .000 | .750 | 5.3 | 1.0 | .2 | .5 | 7.5 |
| 2008–09 | Miami | 7 | 7 | 29.1 | .543 | .000 | .900 | 8.7 | .4 | .4 | .4 | 8.4 |
| 2009–10 | Miami | 5 | 0 | 28.4 | .351 | .000 | .667 | 7.4 | .8 | .2 | .2 | 6.0 |
| Career | 66 | 48 | 27.9 | .476 | .000 | .714 | 7.2 | .7 | .5 | .3 | 7.5 |
See also
References
- ^ "NBA Players – Udonis Haslem" Hoops Hype. Retrieved October 5, 2007.
- ^ Powell, Robert Andrew. Dream Team. Miami New Times, 1998-03-05.
- ^ Powell, Robert Andrew. Double Dribbling. Miami New Times, 1998-07-02.
- ^ ""What will happen to Udonis Haslem?", Linda Robertson, the San Jose Mercury News, published April 23, 2006. Retrieved April 23, 2006.
- ^ "2010 NBA Free Agents: Busy Miami Heat keep Udonis Haslem, agree with guard Mike Miller". ESPN. 2010-07-13. Retrieved 2010-12-29.