The Miami Heat has brought one of its most popular players back to the team, but in a different capacity. The team’s all-time rebounding leader and three-time NBA champion, Udonis Haslem, who retired this past season, is returning as the team’s new vice president of basketball development.
According to NBA.com, the former power forward/center was hired for the position on Tuesday, Nov. 7. In his new role, Haslem will be working alongside the coaching staff, mentoring players for the team and also those who are assigned to the team’s G League affiliate in Sioux Falls, SD. He will also be representing the organization in the community.
In a notable playing career, he, along with Dwyane Wade, was the only player to play on all three Miami Heat championship teams. This past season, he became the oldest player to appear in
the NBA Finals when he did so two days before his 43rd birthday. He also holds the distinction of spending 20 years (his entire career) with the same team. Only two other people have done that: the Dallas Mavericks’ Dirk Nowitzki and the Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant. He was the league’s oldest active player when he laced up his sneakers to play in the NBA for the last time.In August, the Miami native announced that he is focused on building affordable housing units in his hometown. The new project will provide 200 families with quality homes within the south Florida city.
Haslem is doing this in collaboration with Magellan, a Miami-based company, to purchase the 6.3-acre site in which the housing units will be located. There is also a plan to have 26 “workforce-priced” townhomes. Construction is slated to start in late 2024.