Udonis Johneal Haslem is an American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the
National Basketball Association. Haslem played college basketball for the University of Florida,
where he was a key member of four Florida Gators NCAA tournament teams. He played professional
basketball in France for a year, and then signed with the Miami Heat as an undrafted
free agent in 2003. He has won three NBA championships while playing for the Heat.
Early years Haslem was born in Miami, Florida. He attended
Wolfson High School in Jacksonville, Florida, then Miami Senior High School in Miami. He
helped lead Miami High to state titles in 1997 and 1998, playing alongside another future
NBA player, Steve Blake. The team was coached by current South Carolina head coach Frank
Martin. 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. 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 Florida 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 89–76. The Gators received NCAA tournament invitations
four consecutive years during his college career–the first time in the program's history.
Haslem ranks third in team history in points scored and tenth in rebounds. He was inducted
into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 2012.
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 sent 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 2005–06, 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. 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. Haslem started every playoff game as the Heat
defeated the Bulls, Nets and Pistons before reaching the Finals against the Dallas Mavericks.
He scored 17 points in the title-clinching game 6.
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. He would continue to start at power
forward in the 2006–07 regular season. In the 2007–08 season with Shaquille O'Neal
having been traded and Alonzo Mourning going down with an injury, Haslem played the center
position and averaged 12 points and 9 rebounds. In the 2008–09 season, Haslem started at
power forward as the Heat reached the playoffs before falling in 7 games to the Atlanta Hawks.
The following season, Haslem came off the bench with Quentin Richardson filling in the
small forward position and Michael Beasley being named the starting power forward.
Following the Heat's acquisition of LeBron James and Chris Bosh and the re-signing of
Dwyane Wade, there was speculation as to whether Haslem would remain with the team or sign
elsewhere. On July 12, 2010, Haslem re-signed with the Heat, even though he would have received
nearly $10 million more if he had signed with the Dallas Mavericks or Denver Nuggets. Thirteen
games into the season, Haslem was be sidelined by a torn ligament in his foot. He would return
in during the playoffs against the Boston Celtics and had a breakout performance in
game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Chicago Bulls, scoring 13 points in 23
minutes. The Heat would advance to the Finals but would lose in 6 games to the Dallas Mavericks.
In the 2011–12 season Haslem averaged 6 points and 7.3 rebounds in 64 games backing
up Chris Bosh. He would play extended minutes when Bosh was hurt during the East semifinals
against the Indiana Pacers, and posted double figure scoring games in games 4 and 5. He
would be suspended for game 6 following a flagrant foul in the previous game. After
defeating Indiana and then defeating the Boston Celtics in 7 games, the franchise would win
its second championship against the Oklahoma City Thunder with Haslem and Wade being the
only remaining players from the 2006 championship team. Haslem averaged 4.8 points and 6.4 rebounds
in the 2012 playoffs. In the 2012–13 season, Haslem continued
to come off bench for the Heat. On November 21, 2012 in a game against the Milwaukee Bucks,
Haslem passed Alonzo Mourning to become the franchise leader in total rebounds with 4,808,
breaking Mourning's previous record of 4,807. Mourning was in attendance for the game and
applauded Haslem for his milestone. Haslem also became the first undrafted player to
lead a franchise in rebounding. During the 2012–13 regular season, Haslem averaged
a career-low 18.9 minutes, but his shooting percentage from the field returned to just
over his career-average level after dropping to 42% the previous season. In the 2013 playoffs,
Haslem shot 8 of 9 from the field in both Game 3 and Game 5 of the Eastern Conference
Finals against the Indiana Pacers. He won his third championship on June 20, 2013, when
the Heat defeated the San Antonio Spurs in an intense seven game series.
In the 2013–14 season, Haslem played in a reduced role. The Heat finished with 54
wins and the 2nd seed in the East behind the Indiana Pacers, who won 56 games. Haslem and
the Heat made the 2014 NBA Finals after they defeated the Pacers to advance to their fourth
straight Finals. They faced the Spurs in the Finals once again, this time losing the series
in five games. On June 28, 2014, Haslem decided to opt-out
of his contract to become a free agent. On July 18, 2014, Haslem signed a two-year, $5.59
million deal with the Heat. Personal life
On August 24, 2013, Haslem married Faith Rein, a sports broadcaster in New York City, whom
he dated for 14 years. He met Rein in 1999 while attending the University of Florida,
where she was a member of the Florida Gators track and field team, and a couple of months
later, invited her to Popeye's restaurant for a fried chicken dinner. In 2007, they
had their first child, a son named Josiah, and they later had a second son, Elijah. On
August 29, 2012, he proposed to her. A year later, they hosted a wedding which LeBron
James, Dwyane Wade and other Miami Heat teammates and coaches attended.
NBA career statistics Regular season
Playoffs Awards and honors
3× NBA Champion: 2006, 2012, 2013 NBA All-Rookie Second Team: 2004
Miami Heat all-time Rebounding leader: 4,808 First undrafted player in NBA history to set
franchise rebounding record: 2012 See also
List of Florida Gators basketball players Miami Heat accomplishments and records
List of NBA players who have spent their entire career with one franchise
References
External links Career statistics and player information from
NBA.com, or Basketball-Reference.com Florida Gators bio