Haslem’s Celtics Disdain Resurfaces in Latest Podcast

Haslem’s Celtics Disdain Resurfaces in Latest Podcast

Udonis Haslem’s dislike of the Boston Celtics continues after retirement. In the second episode of Haslem’s new Podcast with former Miami Heat teammate and former University of Florida teammate Mike Miller, released earlier this week, Heat center Bam Adebayo revealed a story that showed just how much the Celtics dislike Haslem. First, here’s some background: With the death of Celtics and NBA icon Bill Russell on July 31, 2022, the league retired Russell’s No. 6 jersey for good in the entire league, making him the first player to had his number retired throughout the league.

 

Last season, all NBA players wore a memorial on the right shoulder of their jerseys in Russell’s honor, and no NBA team can now award the number 6 to any player. That prompted Haslem to make a comment that caught the attention of his Heat teammates during a pregame huddle before a game against the Celtics last season in Miami. “We’re struggling and Cap [Udonis Haslem] came in and gave his pregame speech,” Adebayo recalled on a light and entertaining episode of “The OGs” podcast.

“So at that time we were at home and you know they pulled Bill Russell’s jersey for everybody in the league. So they got a number 6 in our canopy. This guy goes. “[For example] these, [for example] this.” . He’s in his pregame speech: “Yeah, man. This, that and the third. [Calling] Bill Russell, too.” Haslem, who played 20 NBA seasons with the Heat before retiring at the end of last season, quickly clarified that comment after Adebayo told the story, making it clear it wasn’t personal against Russell.

“I love Bill. That’s no disrespect to Bill,” Haslem, 43, said on the podcast. “I love Bill. He just did it wrong. But do you ever see a Miami Heat jersey hanging from the rafters in Boston? Never, never? “Right now it was more about the Celtics. It had nothing to do with Bill.

I apologized and was sorry. But when will we ever see a Miami Heat jersey hanging in Boston? Russell won a record 11 NBA championships during his 13-year career, which was spent entirely with the Celtics, and championed the values ​​of equality, respect and inclusion during and after his playing career. “Look, man. I have to apologize, it wasn’t about Bill,” Haslem continued on the podcast.

“It was just about the rivalry and how I feel about the Celtics. But I don’t take back my statement, you’ll never see a Miami Heat player hang a Miami Heat jersey on their [public] keys.” The Heat have honored non-league members before, with Chicago Bulls Michael Jordan’s number 23 and Miami Dolphins’ Dan Marino’s number 13 on display at the Heat’s home arena.

When asked about telling the story while appearing on Haslem and Miller’s new podcast, Adebayo said after Wednesday’s practice that he knew it would anger Celtics fans, “but I had to share the story.” “It’s one of those things where we knew they were going to be upset,” Adebayo said before the Heat flew to San Francisco on Wednesday to begin a five-game West Coast trip against the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night.

“But I felt like it was a great story to share just because he’s just motivating in the best way possible and he’s being himself and just explaining it. But I, we all respect Bill Russell for what he’s done for us as players did. black people and all he had to go through. Just to clear the air before people start talking about it, we all know we respect the guy.” Haslem’s own jersey will soon hang in the Kaseya Center, and the Heat will retire his No. 40 on Jan. 19 at home against the Atlanta Hawks.

Haslem becomes the sixth Heat player to have his jersey retired, joining Alonzo Mourning, Tim Hardaway, Shaquille O’Neal, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade. A native of Miami, Haslem, who went to Miami High before playing at the University of Florida, spent all 20 NBA seasons with his hometown Heat after going undrafted in 2002. He went on to play a role in all three of the franchise’s championships. in 2006, 2012 and 2013, becoming the only undrafted player in NBA history to lead in rebounds.

Haslem, who was hired last month as the Heat’s vice president of basketball development, is only the third player to spend an entire NBA career in at least 20 seasons with one team. Others on that list include Dirk Nowitzki (21 seasons with the Dallas Mavericks) and Kobe Bryant (20 seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers), and Haslem is the only one to do so in his hometown.

“He embodies the culture. He’s the frontier of it,” Adebayo said of Haslem after Wednesday’s practice in Miami. “He’s a person who has an idea, they’ve got an identity, and he’s a person who fits that mold and identity. To be such a person, let’s talk about his story. A three-time champion and he was undrafted, and being in the same organization for 20 years is unheard of. I think he’ll be one of them when it comes.”

 

INJURY REPORT

 

The Heat will again be missing part of their rotation when they begin a five-game west coast road trip against the Warriors on Thursday. The Heat ruled out Jimmy Butler (left calf strain), Kyle Lowry (soreness), Caleb Martin (sprained right ankle), Orlando Robinson (G League) and Dru Smith (season-ending knee injury). Also, Josh Richardson is questionable (lower back discomfort).

But Duncan Robinson is available for the Heat after initially being questionable for the contest with a sprained left ankle. Smith is the Heat’s only injured player not with San Francisco. Butler has missed four straight games with the injury, but the fact that he and the rest of the Heat’s injured players traveled is a positive sign for their potential returns at some point during the trip.

The Heat continue on the road against the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City on Saturday. “They’re here for a reason,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said after Thursday morning’s game. “And they can do a lot of work, and their bodies let us know that.” The Warriors ruled out Draymond Green (suspension) and Gary Payton II (right calf strain) for Thursday’s game against the Heat.