April 10, 2023

Udonis Haslem is done.


Udonis. U-did it.

On the final day of the regular season, when Rudy Gobert fought Kyle Anderson on the Timberwolves bench, Bones Hyland fought Mason Plumlee on the Clippers bench, Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels broke his hand by punching a wall, the Warriors scored a record 55 points in the first quarter, Stephen Silas coached his last game with the Rockets, and Dwane Casey coached his last game with the Pistons …

Udonis Haslem, 42 years old, in his 20th season, all with Miami Heat, scored 24 points, including three 3-pointers, in the final game of his career as the Heat beat the Orlando Magic 123-107.

It was Haslem’s highest scoring game since he had 28 points against the Nets on Nov. 14, 2009, when they were in New Jersey, and Dwyane Wade led the league in scoring.

Haslem, who played just seven games this season and just 102 games over the past eight seasons, has mostly been a solid-as-oak locker room presence late in his career. He averaged double figures four times and earned a reputation as one of the better post defenders in the league. He was a part of three NBA championship teams and three more NBA finals teams.

Undrafted out of Florida (where he played with Mike Miller and David Lee), Haslem entered the league with Wade and future teammates Chris Bosh and LeBron James, who is four years younger than Haslem.

In fact, Haslem played with more than 150 teammates.

He played with a King (LeBron James) and a Barron (Earl).

He played with a Cook (Daequan), Waiters (Dion) and three Butlers (Jimmy, Caron, Rasual).

He played with a Herro (Tyler) and Justice (Winslow). He played with a Person (Wesley) and a Guy (Kyle).

He played with a Birdman (Chris Andersen) and a Dedmon (Dewayne). He played with two Walkers (Antoine, Henry) and a Parker (Smush).

He played with a Nunn (Kendrick) and a Bimbo (Coles).

He played with a House (Eddie) and a Shaq (O’Neal). He played with Banks (Marcus) and a Penny (Hardaway).

He played with a Head (Luther) and a bust (Greg Oden).

He played with all sizes and colors: White (Chocolate), Brown (Shannon) and Green (Gerald).

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