Udonis Haslem

Haslem was born in Miami. His mother, Debra, was Puerto Rican. He attended Wolfson High School in Jacksonville, Florida, then Miami Senior High School in Miami. He helped lead Miami High to state titles in 1997 and 1998 (the last two of three in a row), playing alongside another future NBA player, Steve Blake. The team was coached by current South Carolina head coach Frank Martin.

Haslem accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach Billy Donovan's Gators teams from 1998 to 2002, while majoring in leisure service management. As the Gators' starting center for four years, he was part of Donovan's 1998 recruiting class that raised the national prominence of the Florida Gators basketball program, and included future Miami Heat teammate Mike Miller. His sophomore season saw the team advance to the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship game, before falling to the Michigan State Spartans 89–76. The Gators received NCAA tournament invitations four consecutive years during his college career–the first time in the program's history. During his tenure with Florida, Haslem averaged 13.7 points per game and 6.7 rebounds per game. He was named to the coaches' All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) team four times: as the third team in 1999 and 2000, and the first team in 2001 and 2002. Haslem also ranks third in team history in points scored (1,782) and tenth in rebounds (831). He was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 2012.

Haslem is married to Faith Rein-Haslem, a sports broadcaster, whom he dated for 14 years. He met Rein in 1999 while attending the University of Florida, where she was a member of the Florida Gators track and field team. In 2007, they had their first child, a son named Josiah, and they later had a second son named Elijah. In 2013, the couple were married.

Haslem went undrafted in the 2002 NBA draft largely due to his lack of size; he measured just 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) at the NBA pre-draft camp. He accepted an offer to join the Atlanta Hawks for training camp and made their roster for the Shaw's Pro Summer League. Haslem was released by the Hawks before the start of the 2002–03 NBA season.

On August 6, 2003, Haslem signed with his hometown team, the Miami Heat. As a rookie, he played in the Rookie Challenge during All-Star weekend, earned NBA All-Rookie Second Team honors, and helped the Heat reach the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

Haslem re-signed with the Heat in August 2005. In June 2006, he helped the Heat win their maiden NBA Championship with a 4–2 victory over the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals. Haslem recorded 17 points and 10 rebounds in the title-clinching game six.

Haslem scored a career-high 28 points on November 10, 2006, in a 113–106 win over the New Jersey Nets.

On January 29, 2008, Haslem—who had been the only Miami player to start all 43 games of the 2007–08 season—sustained a sprained left ankle during the Heat's 117–87 loss to the Boston Celtics. He returned to action on February 23, only to play in five games before being ruled out for the rest of the season after reaggravating the ankle injury on March 7 against the Golden State Warriors. He averaged a career-high 12.0 points per game in 2007–08.

In July 2010, Haslem signed a five-year deal worth approximately $20 million to remain with the Heat. The contract paid him roughly $14 million less than he could have received if he accepted more lucrative offers from the Dallas Mavericks or Denver Nuggets. He continued on with a new-look Heat roster that included LeBron James and Chris Bosh teaming up with Dwyane Wade. In November 2010, Haslem sustained a torn ligament in his foot, which sidelined him for the rest of the regular season. He returned to action in May 2011 during the playoffs. In June, the Heat were defeated in six games by the Dallas Mavericks in 2011 NBA Finals.

Haslem helped the Heat return to the NBA Finals in 2012. The team defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder in five games, with Haslem winning his second championship.

In November 2012, Haslem passed Alonzo Mourning to become the franchise leader in total rebounds with 4,808, breaking Mourning's previous record of 4,807. Haslem also became the first undrafted player to lead a franchise in rebounding. In June 2013, Haslem won his third championship after the Heat defeated the San Antonio Spurs in seven games in the NBA Finals. After winning his third championship, Haslem revealed he had played through much of the second half of the 2012–13 season with a torn right meniscus.

In 2013–14, Haslem lost the rotation spot he had long occupied. His on-court time continued to significantly diminish as the season progressed. Haslem played in just seven games in January and February combined, and played only two total minutes from January 21 to February 27. Haslem played in just 46 regular-season games in 2013–14, averaging 3.8 points and 3.8 rebounds. The Heat returned to the NBA Finals in 2014 for the fourth straight year, where they were defeated in five games by the Spurs. Following the 2013–14 season, Haslem decided to opt out of the final year of his contract.

Haslem re-signed with the Heat on a two-year deal in July 2014. He re-signed with the Heat on one-year deals in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019. In January 2019, Haslem indicated that the 2018–19 season would be his last. In April 2019, however, Haslem stated that he had not decided if he was retiring and the decision would not be made until the 2019–20 season. On August 6, 2019, Haslem re-signed with the Heat to a one-year contract. Over a year later, on August 14, 2020, Haslem played as a starting power forward in a loss to the Indiana Pacers during their season finale. During the 2019–20 season, he became the 30th player in league history to play after turning 40 years old, as well as the first modern era undrafted player to play to that age. The Heat reached the 2020 NBA Finals, but lost in six games to the Los Angeles Lakers.