Udonis Haslem enjoyed a stellar 20-year run with the Heat and established himself as one of the franchise’s icons. However, he had an unconventional path to NBA stardom. The forward surprisingly went undrafted despite being in the underwhelming 2002 Draft class.
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He was naturally dismayed that no team deemed him worthy of spending a draft pick on. However, Charles Barkley’s words of affirmation helped boost his self-belief.
On The OGs podcast, Haslem spoke about watching the 2002 NBA draft and not having his name called. He revealed that he was distraught, astonished, and unsure about his future.
However, Barkley, who was part of the expert panel on TNT during the draft, expressed his shock at teams overlooking the forward’s potential. Haslem said,
“I remember seeing Charles Barkley saying, ‘I’m shocked that Udonis Haslem hasn’t been drafted.’ For me, I think, even in that moment, that was a breath of fresh air.”
“Lifted me up a little bit because when you ask somebody like Charles Barkley, Hall of Famer, one of the top players to ever play the game, to speak your name and even know who you are on that particular night, I think that went a long way for me.”
With his self-esteem restored, Haslem made the unorthodox choice to spend a year abroad straight out of college. He signed a one-year deal with the French team Elan Sportif Chalonnais and averaged 16.1 points and 9.4 assists there. He also lost close to 50 pounds and got in the best shape of his life while in France.
His exceptional performances caught the eye of the Heat, who brought the Florida native and former Florida Gator back to his home state on a two-year, $987,000 deal. Haslem immediately became an important part of head coach Stan Van Gundy’s rotation and earned a spot on the All-Rookie Second Team.
The forward spent his entire career with the franchise and won three NBA titles. He embodied the patented Heat culture and became a critical figure in the locker room. Haslem’s playing time virtually became non-existent after the 2015-16 season.
However, head coach Erik Spoelstra and team president Pat Riley kept him around until the end of the 2022-23 season due to his invaluable contribution as a leader. Seven months after he called it a day on his career, the team honored his legacy and retired his jersey.
