Udonis Haslem announces he will return for a 20th NBA season with the Miami Heat
When Udonis Haslem made the Miami Heat as a rookie in 2003, many people celebrated on social media.
And by “lots of people” we probably just mean his family. Few knew that Haslem – an undrafted Florida Gator who had just spent a year playing in France with a club called Chalon-Sur-Saône – would be a future Hall of Famer.
Twenty years later, people on social media are still celebrating Udonis Haslem joining the Miami Heat. This time the occasion was an announcement Sunday in front of hundreds of his basketball campers and the media that he would return once again, for his 20th and final season in the NBA.
UD says he doesn’t want a farewell tour. For him, winning championships and then mentoring guys who established themselves as NBA players is his reward. He doesn’t need anything more than that.
— Will Manso (@WillManso) August 21, 2022
Udonis Haslem added that this will be his last season. “One more year,” he said.
—Anthony Chiang (@Anthony_Chiang) August 21, 2022
To put Haslem’s longevity into perspective: In 2003, if anyone was celebrating UD joining the Miami Heat, it was on MySpace. Twitter and Facebook did not exist yet. Let it sink in.
This time around, Twitter is definitely a thing, and Heat fans fired up their tweeting machines to celebrate “UD” by bringing him back one last time.
!!!!!! @ThisIsUD pic.twitter.com/fVcWcnbbi2
— Greg Sylvander (@GregSylvander) August 21, 2022
Heat in 5 you filthy cowards LFG https://t.co/o0n65N8jZD
— Cortes (@Ryan_Cortes) August 21, 2022
Bigger than basketball. Welcome back OG. I hope we can send you to retirement with one more ring https://t.co/YnD6nVQvAP
—Austin (@ChefTrillie_) August 21, 2022
Year 20 @ThisIsUD!!! pic.twitter.com/ldNDutUMWw
— Brendan Tobin (@Brendan_Tobin) August 21, 2022
Udonis Haslem had a goal of reaching 20 NBA seasons because his father, Johnnie Haslem, wanted him to reach that milestone.
UD’s father was his best friend who passed away in 2021. UD called it “the hardest time I’ve ever had to go through”. pic.twitter.com/uXS9uizoyT
— 𝙃𝙀𝘼𝙏 𝙉𝘼𝙏𝙄𝙊𝙉 (@HeatvsHaters) August 21, 2022
Needless to say, Heat fans are thrilled that UD – the last remaining on-court tie to the franchise’s championship history – has decided it has one more mentorship season up its sleeve before calling it one. career. Every time you tie the great Kobe Bryant or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on a roster, you’re doing something incredibly well.
Not only is a 20th season beautiful, aesthetically, but it places Udonis among a small group of NBA players to have accomplished such a feat. Haslem now ranks in the Top 10 for most NBA seasons contested, trailing both LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony, who are also entering their 20th campaign.
It’s wild to watch.
Going through @statmuse pic.twitter.com/bkWRtbWkwf
— Ryan Yousefi (@Rizzmiggiz) August 21, 2022
So there you have it, Heat fans. One final season to soak up the greatness of Udonis Haslem, a man who has stepped onto the basketball court for the Miami Heat every day since most University of Miami undergraduates have been alive.
Welcome back, UD!
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