Udonis Haslem retiring after 2022-23 season

At the end of the 2022-23 NBA season, Udonis Haslem will call it quits for the NBA

After a lengthy 20-year career, Miami Heat forward/center Udonis Haslem will finally call it a career, according to theScore.

Haslem spent his entire 20-year NBA career with the Miami Heat. He originally went undrafted before the 2003 season before the Heat picked him up.

Haslem spent four years at the University of Florida. At Florida, he averaged over 10 points per game in each of his four seasons. In total, he finished with a career stat line of almost 14 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game. Over the course of his NBA career, Haslem averaged 7.5 points per game, 6.6 rebounds and 0.8 assists.

The Heat didn’t see Haslem as a statistics guy. He was mostly viewed and respected by his leadership on and off the court. With him retiring, the Heat will look for a veteran player like Jimmy Butler or Kyle Lowry to fill that role.

“I’m done,” Haslem told Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald, via theScore. “I’m done no matter what happens. I gave my contribution. I think at this stage, there needs to be another voice for these guys. It’s time for somebody to step up and be the voice.”

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The Heat will honor Haslem after his devotion to the Miami franchise this month with a four-day long celebration.

“Obviously, there is a tremendous amount of love and respect in this organization for Udonis. The marketing department, we absolutely love Udonis. He has been great to us in his 20 years here,” Heat executive vice president and chief marketing officer Michael McCullough said, via theScore.

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