Written By: Azam MasoodHe enters his 11th season with the franchise, officially joining Dwyane Wade as the longest tenured players in franchise history.
He stands alone as the franchise’s leader in offensive, defensive, and total rebounds.
He has three NBA Championship rings.
But numbers simply don’t do Udonis Haslem justice. Maybe his official designation with the team doesn’t either, but it probably comes closer. He is the team’s longstanding co-captain. And, it has been a shining badge of honor that Haslem has worn for seven years and counting.
Haslem has never relinquished his co-captaincy since acquiring it, even with adapting to different roles on the court over the years. Haslem is all too aware of the responsibilities his title brings and how he must to carry himself to garner the respect of his teammates.
“I try to set an example every day in practice, in games, in the weight room, in conditioning. I have to set an example for the other guys and those guys will follow me,” says Haslem. “I had to earn the respect of the guys and I’m happy to have the respect of the guys around me.”
While Haslem has evolved into one of the chief voices in the locker room, he remembers being in the reverse position. Early on in his career, he had to prove himself. At that time, he sought out the advice of veterans to point him in the right direction.
“I had an opportunity to try out for the Miami HEAT. I walked in and there were like 50 guys and they were only keeping one” Haslem remembers.
Through hard work, Haslem became the “one” the HEAT kept and was afforded the opportunity to soak up knowledge from a bevy of grizzled HEAT veterans over the years
“I just drop the jewels that have been dropped on me,” Haslem says pensively. “I’ve been fortunate to play with a lot of players like ‘Zo, Brian Grant, Shaq, Gary Payton. The list goes on of great professionals that I’ve had the opportunity to play with. I just drop the jewels on these guys that have been dropped them on me.”
Haslem takes his role as life coach seriously, but from day one, he’s earned his reputation through grit and effort on the hardwood.
“These guys know they can depend on me on the court, off the court, seven days a week I’m going to bring it. They know I do whatever I have to do to put this team in the best position to win the game. When you do things like that, guys take notice.”