Author: rb809rb

Udonis Haslem, a three-time NBA champion and 20-year member of the Miami Heat, shared insights from his playing career and current executive role as part of a Reddit AMA. Check out what he had to say:

In 2014 Finals, where you played the Spurs for the second time. Much has been talked about the ball-movement of that Spurs team. I want to know how you see that series, especially as a vet in Miami.

The ball movement was tremendous. Obviously, they were well coached. A lot of times, you get in situations where you look back, and you say that you beat yourself, and we wish we could do some things differently, but honestly, I can’t say that we beat ourselves. I just have to say that the Spurs were the better team in that series, and they beat us. Congratulations. It was just one of those things.–Udonis

Since you played with the Heat for so long, you’ve had tons of different teammates, so which ones were your favorite ones, and do you have any funny stories involving them?

I think everybody understands Dwyane. He’s my favorite teammate. Everybody knows the Dwyane Wade that they know now, and the great basketball player, and the great man, that he is now, but I remember meeting him, and I never met nobody that hadn’t been in a dentist so long with so many damn cavities.

That’s just what I remember when we went to take our physicals. We used to do everything together, and we had to go to the dentist, and I was waiting in the dentist’s waiting room forever. I had never waited in the dentist’s waiting room that long for anything, and he was back there getting his teeth fixed, because he had so many cavities growing up, so that was funny, but Dwyane’s my favorite teammate.

My older brother went to UF while you were there. He said he remembers you and the team riding around campus on golf carts lol. What’s your favorite memory at UF?

I had so many great memories at UF. My favorite memory at UF is probably meeting my wife. I was standing in front of my dorm room outside with my pit bull, and I wasn’t supposed to have a dog on campus, or in my dorm room, anyway. I was one of those guys, I kind of defied all the rules. So I had a dog living with me on campus, and I was standing outside of my dorm room with my pit bull and a couple of my teammates.

My now-wife, Faith, was coming back from track practice, walking past the dorm room, when she stopped and started playing with my dog. Then me and her started talking, and the rest is history. So that’s probably my favorite moment from UF.

Out of all 20 of your seasons, which year was the most special to you personally?

My final year was probably the most special to me, and that’s just because that was the year that wasn’t about me. I think every year up until that point was about me.

It was about what I wanted to do, it was about extending my career, it was about playing for a championship, it was about all the things that you play this game for.

I think my final year wasn’t about me.

My final year was about everyone who sacrificed to help me get to that point in my career. Everybody who sacrificed for me to be the person that I needed to be, like my parents who sacrificed so much. The city of Miami that supported me for so long. My wife, while I was away, traveling so much, and my kids, while I was away. That final year was about them. I wanted them to celebrate that year.

UD, HEAT lifer here. So refreshing to have your voice nationally reppin’ the 305. Can you share a bit about who helped prepare and mentor you for your budding career as an analyst and what it’s been like from your first TV appearance until now?

I’ve had so many conversations with a lot of people. I’ve had conversations with the great Mark Jones, who’s about to retire, and he’s had an amazing career. I’ve had conversations with Isaiah Thomas, with my brother, Dwyane Wade. I’ve had conversations with just a couple of different people who are already on that level. Some of my Miami Heat family as well, the people over there in PR. Shout out to JJ, my guy, Jason Jackson.

So many people I’ve had conversations with, about taking this step, and they all encouraged me, and I have to be honest about it, too. About 10 years ago, we were on vacation, and Dwyane told me that he thought I would be good at analysis and TV, and I told him he was crazy. But those are some people who helped me take this step and be more comfortable making the movement.

My knowledge of the game and basketball was always great. I’ve had great coaches. I played for Stan Van Gundy, Pat Riley, and Erik Spoelstra. You go down my college tree, I played for Billy Donovan. I played for Anthony Grant, who’s at Florida.

You go down to high school, I played for Frank Martin, so I’ve had great coaching, so I have to obviously give them credit as well.

What’s a piece of advice you would give to the rookie version of yourself? It can be about basketball but also about off-court stuff.

Be patient. Your journey may not look like everybody else’s, but that doesn’t mean you’re not going to reach your destination, so just be patient.

What are your predictions for the SoFi Play-In Tournament and the 2026 NBA playoffs?

Are you kidding me? You know what my prediction is: the Miami Heat!

Hopefully, fingers crossed. Charlotte’s been playing amazingly. It’s going to be a tough game, tough task, but hopefully they can get through that. And then hopefully they deal with the winner between Philadelphia and Orlando. And they haven’t beaten Orlando yet this year, so that’ll be a tall task. Detroit has played well. I’d be crazy to believe that anybody’s going to win the East besides Boston, the way they’ve played, getting Jayson Tatum back, and what Joe Mazzulla’s been able to do, shout out to them. And I think that the New York Knicks and Atlanta Hawks series is going to be very, very interesting.

Out West, I don’t think that the Lakers are just going to get landslided like people think, just because Luka and Austin Reaves are out. I understand Houston has KD and those guys, but I think the Lakers are going to make that a series. I think JJ’s going to coach well, I think they’re going to compete, and I think they’re going to make that a series, so I don’t think that’s going to go the way people think that’s going to go. OKC has been amazing. I expect them to be right there in the Finals, but I’m really interested in watching the Denver Nuggets because they’re my surprise team. I think everybody’s looking at OKC and San Antonio right now, and I think everybody’s forgetting about Denver.

Joker is playing amazing, Jamal Murray’s great, and they’re healthy.

What was the most significant tactical change on defense from the time you entered the league to when you retired?

So much more zone. I think when I came into the NBA, you would just use zone, because you couldn’t guard somebody. Well, actually, when I first came in, they didn’t have zone. And then they brought it back, but you really only use zone a little bit when you can’t guard somebody. I think now they use zone just to throw the team off, just to mess up the team’s rhythm, confuse them a little bit.

I think the zone defense is something that has been technically a huge difference from when I first came into the league to the way they use it now. Sometimes they even pick up full court and fall back into a zone.

I have lived here in the 305 since 1972. I taught in Liberty City and Allapattah and when I was a kid my dad took me to see Mychal Thompson play in high school with the Jackson 5. The heartbeat of our city was amplified big time in 1988 when Ted Arison got us a seat at the NBA table, then his son and grandson made that chair into a throne. 3 rings, 2 insane Jimmy runs to the Finals, and a Wilt-Bam-Kobe later, I want to ask you: How often do you sit back and enjoy the memories? Can you pick 1 favorite?

Not as often as I should right now. I’m still building, I’m still growing, I’m still pushing.

Every now and then, I sit back and think about the journey, and how amazing it’s been to be a part of those three championships, to be a kid growing up in Miami, and to watch the Miami Heat grow, to watch from that little first arena that was Overtown, and now moving a little bit down the street to downtown.

Alonzo Mourning coming to Miami. And thinking that Juwan Howard was going to come to Miami and play with Alonzo Mourning, then that contract got rescinded.

I just remember the history. I remember Tim James, who was from Liberty City, went to Northwestern, went to the University of Miami, and got drafted by the Miami Heat.

He was the original Mr. Miami that played for the Heat before me and wore the number 40. So, if anybody wants to know the story of me wearing the number 40, it was to represent Tim James, who was the original kid from Miami, Liberty City, who played for the Miami Heat first. I was second. And my father also wore No. 40.

So, yes, the history of the Heat runs through my veins, and I know it like my own history. So it’s been amazing to watch, but I don’t look back very often, because I’m too focused on looking forward.

Hi UD! Appreciate all you did for Miami Heat. How do you personally define “Heat Culture?” Is it just a grind day-in and day-out? Waking up early at 5 am; first in, last out?

I’m a person who gives up at the first sign of resistance: I cannot go to the gym because I don’t want to wake up early. What is the most important advice you have to be disciplined as you? For example, the story of you going from Undrafted to an NBA champion (and one day, the Hall!)

If I could define Heat Culture, it’s about getting comfortable being uncomfortable. I think the way you do that is you embrace the suck. You embrace the struggle. You embrace the grind, and you live in those moments. Once again, understanding what the goal is. Heat Culture is also about enjoying somebody else’s success and understanding that it’s not always about you. You’re probably not going to have the role that you want, but you can still play a role in a winning situation. And also, Heat Culture is about sacrifice.

That’s the biggest thing that people don’t understand. I think people feel like only role players have to sacrifice, but I think the stars have to sacrifice, the coaches have to sacrifice, I think everybody has to sacrifice, which, if you’re talking about winning the championship, I think that’s the biggest thing that people don’t want to do.

I think people feel like only certain people have to sacrifice, but everybody has to sacrifice if you want to win a championship. You look at what the Lakers were able to do, and LeBron James had to move to the third row, and they were on a hell of a run until those guys got hurt. You look at when we had our run. Chris Bosh was one of the top three power forwards in the game, and took a third option to be on a championship team, so that’s a huge sacrifice.

You’ve done a crazy good job at cultivating this mutual respect between yourself, the organization, and the fans. That is, your relationship with the team seems to be the most “about it” of anyone, it’s really difficult to imagine the Heat organization not having Udonis Haslem involved somewhere.

Are there other people you think about in this sort of “ambassador” role for the organization? Like other guys around the league, players or staff, that you think as like “This guy is all about this team and this city”? Has there been anyone outside the org that you look to and think “I want to represent my team the way this person does”?

Yeah, you think about guys like Nick Collison, who’s an Oklahoma City legend, and I think he’s one of the guys. I don’t know if he’s still in the front office there, but I think he’s all about that team, all about that city. So, shout out to Nick Collison for what he’s been able to do, and the relationship he has over there.

I kind of carved out my own lane. I can’t really say that there’s anybody who does it the way I do it. I literally just came from practice yesterday with the Miami Heat. I flew all the way in from L.A. just to go to practice for the last game. I attend training camp, and when I say go to practice and attend training camp, I’m actually practicing and competing and running, and I’m part of the team with these guys.

For these guys to listen to me, for these guys to respect me, I want to get to the bottom of it with these guys. So I start at the bottom, and I work up with these guys, and that’s where we build these relationships. So when I have to have those uncomfortable conversations with them, they trust me because we’ve built that relationship in our most vulnerable moments. We’re tired, we’re sweating, we’re beating each other up, and that’s where the respect and the love comes from. That’s the way I do it. That’s the way I tap in with these guys. It’s a little bit different. I don’t think most 45-year-old retired guys who played 20 years are going to training camp, running around, and beating these guys up and getting beaten up. But I enjoy it. The recovery is taking me a little longer than it used to. I still enjoy it because I earn their respect, and they listen to me.

On the 2004-2005 Miami Heat team you played with:

• Eddie Jones
• Christian Laettner
• Alonzo Mourning
• Shaquille O’Neal
• Steve Smith

Do you think having that many 10 year+ veterans (who had productive careers in the NBA) helped you with accelerating your development in Year 2?

If so: What specific gaps/weaknesses did any one of them (whether executing on the court or even mentally understanding something) directly help with you?

And lastly: Is there any advice that any of them gave you (whether it was for the games, practice, conducting or maximizing yourself away from the team, or how to set yourself up post playing days) that any of them gave you that stuck with you throughout/during your career? Thank you.

Yes, I learned so much from those guys. Alonzo Mourning was in the weight room every day. And as a basketball player, you don’t think that’s ideal to be in the weight room every day, but I learned from Alonzo just how to hit that weight room every day and just work on my body and build my body, and you don’t have to be lifting to gain actual muscle. Just lifting to be proactive and prevent injuries and different things like that.

Eddie Jones was a South Florida legend. So for me, just being from South Florida, having the opportunity to play with Eddie Jones, I was in awe of him. So many guys, Steve Smith, “Smitty” too. I’m a Miami kid. Steve Smith is not from Miami. Eddie Jones is a South Florida guy, he’s from Pompano. Steve Smith is a Heat legend. So, coming from Miami, getting a chance to be around Steve Smith and play for Smitty, I was in awe of that.

I wanted to learn as much from him. He talked to me about things off the court. Cars? That holds no value, young fella. Look into watches and different things like that. So I was able to learn those kinds of things from Steve Smith, and all these guys gave me a little bit of something that they had, and I was able to kind of turn it into how it authentically works for me and how I can be a veteran with those same skill sets that they had, but in my own authentic way.

What was the best five minutes of basketball you’ve ever seen someone play? Teammate or opponent

I’ve seen a lot of great basketball. I did not see the Kobe 81 game, so I didn’t see that with my own eyes. I saw Dwyane drop 55, I think, against the Knicks in Miami. So I probably would say that’s the one I’ve seen with my own eyes, when I was present. Watching on TV, just having the opportunity to watch my brother Bam score 83 was amazing. Just the first quarter alone, he scored 31. I was just in awe watching the first quarter.

Hi Udonis, I’m a really huge fan of yours and was glued to my screen during the 2013 NBA Finals. Can I ask what was going through your head and your reaction when you saw Ray Allen hit that clutch 3-pointer to send the Spurs to overtime in Game 6?

I had the perfect angle as a rebounder. You know when a shot comes from one side of the basket, it was coming from the right corner, that the rebound most likely will bounce to the left corner. So I was sitting right on the left corner baseline, right in front of the shot. When Ray released it, I knew it was good. I can tell, as a rebounding guy, that it was not long, it wasn’t short, it was right on target. So I kind of anticipated it going in.

I mean, all that just happened so fast. But it also seemed like it was happening so slowly. And I just remember the shot going in, and I had the perfect angle watching it, and I just remember Ray saying, “Get those damn ropes out of here.”

And just the look on Bron’s face, and the excitement. In moments like that, with that team that has been put together, that team is put together to win. There’s no other reason you put together a super team but to win. And if a super team does not win, then it gets broken up, and that’s the reality of it. So I’m looking at this situation as if we don’t win, we might not be together next year. That’s the truth. You put together a super team for one reason only, and if it doesn’t get done, you break it up.

You built a reputation as one of the most respected players in the league. What does it actually take to earn that kind of respect in a team?

You have to be all the things that you say you are. You can’t talk about it and not be about it. I think so many times we hear people talk, talk, talk, but their actions don’t match their words. I’m a person who makes sure that my actions match my words.

I might tell you, hey, I’m going to meet you at the gym tomorrow at 6 o’clock to shoot, and I do not want to get up tomorrow to meet you at 6 o’clock to shoot, but because I told you that, I’m going to do it. So for me, I think the reason why I’m so respected is that everything I say I’m going to do, I do it. I’m authentic with it. I’m also very, very selfless when it comes to my teammates, my team, my city, my community.

I know how to celebrate other people and put other people first. Those are qualities that I think help people respect me. And I’m about winning. I’m about the right things. And I treat everybody the same way. I treat the janitor the same way I treat the CEO.

What was the most pivotal point in your NBA journey?

The most pivotal point in my NBA journey was when I didn’t get drafted. I really feel like having to go to Europe and going through that one year in Europe, I think that had to be a part of my journey. I think if I had gotten drafted, then I could have had a career that maybe lasted a few years, and I could have been out of the league.

But that year, I had a chance to go to Europe. I matured a lot. I embrace the suck, like I talked about. You know, this sucks, but this is what my journey looks like. I embraced that. And I had a humongous chip on my shoulder. I’d probably call it a boulder. I probably had a boulder on my shoulder when I came back, and that helped me as well.

The opening night of this year’s SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament will determine the No. 8 seed in one conference and eliminate a team in another. Get ready for the action with previews and predictions for Tuesday’s matchups.

East: (10) Miami Heat at (9) Charlotte Hornets
(7:30 p.m. ET, Prime Video)

The winner: Advances to face the loser of No. 7 vs. No. 8 game in East (Magic vs. 76ers) on Friday (7:30 p.m. ET, Prime Video).

The loser: Eliminated from postseason.

Regular-season results: Heat, 3-1.

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Keep your eyes on: Charlotte’s 3-point shooting & Miami’s perimeter defense

The Hornets are fearless when it’s time to let it fly. In some respects, that can hurt them as not all of their 3-point shots are launched wisely (LaMelo Ball can be the biggest offender because he’s undisciplined at times). But he and Kon Knueppel (42.5% on 3-pointers) must be respected at all times because neither will hesitate to take those shots. Plus, the Hornets’ offense is geared toward getting them open looks. Add Brandon Miller and Miles Bridges and this team will beat you if you don’t prioritize perimeter defense.

That’s where Miami must bring the heat; they were a middle-of-the-pack defensive team for much of the season and allowed 120-plus points 13 times over the last month. Also, the Heat’s best defender is Bam Adebayo, not exactly a perimeter shutdown guy. This puts pressure on Tyler Herro, Andrew Wiggins, Davion Mitchell and Norman Powell to step up a level and make the Hornets work hard for those shots.

Key matchup: Adebayo vs. Hornets’ big men

The good news for Charlotte is that Adebayo will likely not bring 83-point heat, so to speak. That epic performance against Washington was once in five lifetimes. That said, he’s a far better threat than anyone on the Hornets’ roster. Adebayo understands the situation and how he must exploit a Hornets team lacking an imposing big man. Adebayo averaged 20 points and 10 rebounds per game in 2025-26 and tends to raise his game this time of year.

As for the Hornets, they’ll go by a committee featuring Moussa Diabaté, who led the club in rebounding and had decent stretches this season, and Ryan Kalkbrenner, a solid shot-blocker (1.5 per game) but mild rebounder (6.5). If you could fuse those players together, the Hornets would have a borderline All-Star.

Prediction: Hornets

The Hornets were among the best teams in the NBA — no typo — over the last two months of the season, a surge that caught everyone by surprise. They were 11-23 two days into the New Year, and then dropped the accelerator foot hard and finished with 44 wins. It helped that Ball stayed relatively healthy and Knueppel never hit the rookie wall. The Hornets play with unusual confidence for such a young group — swagger, as they say — and the franchise is anxious to end the league’s longest non-playoff streak (nine years) to lend proof that the Hornets have turned the corner. Miami has the considerable edge in experience, but in a single-game elimination, sometimes the hotter team wins. Plus, the Hornets are hot and at home.

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West: (8) Portland Trail Blazers at (7) Phoenix Suns
(10 p.m. ET, Prime Video)

The winner: Advances to face the No. 2 seeded San Antonio Spurs in the first round as the No. 7 seed.

The loser: Plays the winner of Wednesday’s Warriors-Clippers game to determine the West’s No. 8 seed.

Regular-season results: Suns, 2-1.

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Keep your eyes on: How the young Blazers respond

This is a checkpoint for the many inexperienced players on the Blazers’ roster, most of whom will get their first glimpse at the bright lights. This is important because the meat of the Blazers’ rotation is youth.

Deni Avdija, Toumani Camara, Shaedon Sharpe and Donovan Clingan all serve important roles, and their steadiness will determine their worth. By contrast, the Suns are a more veteran team with Devin Booker (and especially Dillon Brooks), who’ll look to rattle the young Blazers. Portland could and should use youth to its advantage and give the Suns a taste of speed and energy, especially defensively. Portland is among the better defensive teams in the league, with Camara serving as a disruptor on that end of the court.

Key matchup: Devin Booker vs. Jrue Holiday

If you recall, these two had a massive moment five years ago in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. As Booker tried to spin to the hoop late in the fourth quarter of a tight game, Holiday — then with the Bucks — wrestled the ball away, dribbled downcourt and threw a lob to Giannis Antetokounmpo that changed the series and gave Milwaukee a commanding 3-2 lead going home.

Fast forward to now: Holiday is not only a solid veteran presence to the Blazers, but remains productive here in his so-called twilight. This is a delicious matchup. Booker remains a dangerous scorer, averaging 26.1 points per game in 2025-26, and while his efficiency took a dip, he’s the most reliable threat in the lineup. Holiday was surprisingly solid offensively for Portland, averaging 16.3 ppg while remaining a top-shelf defender. Something’s gotta give between these two credible veterans.

Prediction: Suns

The Suns managed to win 45 games despite losing Kevin Durant last offseason and with Brooks, Jalen Green and Mark Williams missing 20 or more games each. That’s an astounding success rate given the circumstances. Nobody expected Phoenix to be this good before the season began, and now with this play-in comes a flip — it would be surprising if they failed to advance to the playoffs. While the Blazers do bring youth and energy, Phoenix seems a team of destiny. Did anyone see Collin Gillespie, until now a journeyman young guard, having such an impact? Or Jordan Ott, the first-year coach, who built a top-10 defense? That said, the Suns need to be at their best against Portland and also hope their mini-slide caused by injuries since going 30-19 and rising to sixth in the standings was just a temporary phase.

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Shaun Powell has covered the NBA since 1985. You can e-mail him at spowell@nba.com, find his archive here and follow him on X.

Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra described the Play-In game format with one word.

“Harrowing,” he said.

Spoelstra, the longest tenured coach with the same team in the NBA, added: “It’s like the NCAA (Tournament). It’s like playing in the Olympics. The one-game eliminations, they’re harrowing. There’s nothing else. It’s Game 7.”

Miami plays at the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday (7:30 p.m. ET, Prime Video) in an Eastern Conference game in the 2026 SoFi Play-In Tournament. The winner will play the loser of the Philadelphia 76ers-Orlando Magic for the No. 8 seed and a first-round playoff series against the No. 1 seed Detroit Pistons.

If anything is true about the ultra-competitive Spoelstra, who has won two NBA championships and led the Heat to two other NBA Finals appearances, it is that he will embrace a harrowing Play-In scenario rather than miss the postseason.

“We say it every year that we’ve been in there (Play-In game),” Spoelstra said. “You don’t want to be in there, but that’s sometimes the path you have to take.”

The Heat know that path as well as any team. They’re making their fourth consecutive appearance in the Play-In format, and Spoelstra’s Heat have found success: three playoff appearances as the No. 8 seed, including a trip to the NBA Finals in 2023. That year, they beat the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks in the first round, No. 5-seeded New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference semifinals and the No. 2-seeded Boston Celtics in the East Finals before losing to the Denver Nuggets in the NBA Finals.

Spoelstra doesn’t have concrete reasons for Miami’s Play-In game triumphs. The Heat are one of three teams (the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers are the others) to win a playoff series after starting the postseason in the Play-In.

“You just try to maximize that opportunity,” Spoelstra said. “You want to be in the playoffs. You want to punch your ticket, and it doesn’t always happen in the way that you want it to happen. The top four or five teams in the league, the top seeds, they kind of understand where they’re going to be three months before the end of the regular season.

“Everybody else is jostling and probably not in the exact position they want to be, and that includes the teams that have to go through the Play-In to do it.”

It helps that the Heat have had Spoelstra on the bench and experienced players — like current Heat players Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro — on the court. In previous seasons, they had, in addition to Adebayo and Herro, Jimmy Butler, Kyle Lowry, Kevin Love, Duncan Robinson and Andrew Wiggins.

“We have to accept the reality of the situation and deal with it,” Heat guard Jaime Jaquez Jr. said.

Just a month ago, the Heat were tied for fifth place with the Magic with a 38-29 record and had won seven consecutive games. They were one game ahead of Toronto and 2 1/2 games ahead of the Philadelphia 76ers and Atlanta Hawks.

Miami then lost 10 of its next 13 games – two of those defeats by a combined five points – and concluded the regular season with two victories.

“This is the league,” Spoelstra said. “You’re going to deal with a lot of different emotions. And if you go through a stretch where you lose 10 of 13, I don’t want guys feeling excited and doing jumping jacks about where we are.

“But you do want to have intention. And after the frustration, anger, all of that as competitors, then the next day we just focus on solutions. … just getting focused for another challenge.”

Following Friday’s victory against the Washington Wizards, Spoelstra said, “We also do want to have mini victories in this season. It’s been frustrating the last three weeks. But that’s the second night of a back-to-back. You just want to take on the additional challenge of getting our 13th win in that scenario and also to secure that we would have a winning record. These aren’t massive goals. You just try to wrap your mind around any kind of little goal you can achieve and ultimately get the win.”

Miami took three of four against Charlotte this season – two victories early in the season and a split in March.

“Obviously, we’ve had too much experience in the Play-In, but (it’s) just understanding what’s at stake,” Adebayo said. “It’s really how bad do you really want to get into this dance. That’s what it boils down to.”

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Jeff Zillgitt has covered the NBA since 2008. You can email him at jzillgitt@nba.com, find his archive here and follow him on X.