Basketball is the least of Heat forward Udonis Haslem's concerns now
Longtime Miami Heat forward Udonis Haslem hasn't had time to think about it.
This is supposedly his farewell before retiring after 17 seasons in the NBA. The circumstances haven't allowed it to enter his mind, especially the past two weeks. The league has been suspended since March 11 because the coronavirus outbreak, so Haslem's finale has been put on hold.
"Yeah, I mean, everybody, obviously, it comes to mind," Haslem said on a conference call Friday. "For me, I'm still maintaining hope that we can salvage some of the basketball season. So I haven’t gotten to that point yet. And in the midst of all this, there is a lot going on. So I'm focused on a lot of different things right now that are keeping me occupied, as far as not really thinking about what's going to happen as far as my last basketball game."
Haslem, 39, has spent his entire career with the Heat. It is the fifth longest tenure with one team in league history, trailing only Reggie Miller (18 years with the Indiana Pacers), John Stockton (19 years with the Utah Jazz), Tim Duncan (19 years with the San Antonio Spurs, Kobe Bryant (20 years with the Los Angeles Lakers) and Dirk Nowitzki (21 years with the Dallas Mavericks).
Haslem, who went in undrafted in 2003, holds nearly every Heat rebounding record. Still, he realizes now isn't the time to reflect on his achievements.
“Right now, there are bigger things going on than basketball,” Haslem said. “So it’s really kind of hard to focus on basketball.”
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