Heat's Udonis Haslem still may not retire after this season?

It feels like Udonis Haslem has been a pseudo-assistant coach on the Miami Heat bench since Calvin Coolidge’s presidency. But the now 19-year NBA veteran still may not be ready to call it a career after this season.

Haslem spoke this week with Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald and said that he has a goal of playing 20 seasons in the league.

“I think for me, it’s an accomplishment to be in that class of people,” Haslem said of potentially joining the 20-season club. “Obviously, so many selfless years. I think that’s something that I can give to myself. To say that a kid who nobody really gave a chance to, to do 20 years in this organization at this level and break records and win championships. I think for me, that would be a gift to myself.

“That was something that my father wanted,” Haslem added. “So I think it’s something that I still have the ability to accomplish. That’s something that we’re looking forward to.”

Haslem’s father Johnnie passed away in August at the age of 70.

Very few players have made it to 20 seasons in the NBA. Vince Carter holds the record at 22 seasons, while Robert Parish, Kevin Willis, Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki, Kobe Bryant, and Jamal Crawford are the others to reach the mark. Of those players, only Nowitzki and Bryant did it with a single team.

The 41-year-old Haslem is already the Heat’s all-time leading rebounder and has won three NBA championships with them. But it has been roughly six years now since he has seen regular minutes for the Heat. In fact, Haslem has appeared in just seven total games in the last three seasons combined.

That said, Haslem is widely seen as the most respected player in the league and continues to play an important role for the Heat with his (often fiery) brand of veteran leadership. Having continued to keep Haslem on the roster for all these years, Miami made the Finals in 2020 and now have one of the best records in the league at 7-2. If Haslem decides that he wants to come back next season and make it an even 20 years with the Heat, the door will be wide open for him to do so.