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After a historic run to the NBA Finals, the Miami Heat‘s weird, wild 2022-23 campaign finally reched its end on Monday night as the Denver Nuggets clinched their first-ever title with a 94-89 win at Ball Arena. That’s not the only book that was closed with the loss, though.
Udonis Haslem — a 305 lifer and Heat cornerstone for two full decades — is officially riding off into the sunset after a career that saw him win three championship rings. And while his last contest didn’t end as he or anyone in South Florida had hoped, the 43-year-old was nonetheless overcome with feelings of gratitude during his postgame presser.
“Oh, man, honestly, I wanted to get the win, but I’m proud of my guys, proud of my team,” Haslem said. “I have no regrets. I just thanked those guys for giving me this amazing memory to take with me.
“So, I tell the guys, I have no complaints, I have no regrets. I’m thankful. They gave me a final season that I will never, ever forget. That’s all I can ask for.”
Udonis Haslem Still Thinking About the Heat Getting Back to the Promised Land Next Season
Haslem may have hit the NBA hardwood for the final time (after more than 1,000 combined regular season and playoff games), but the ex-baller still finds himself looking ahead to the Heat’s next attempt at capturing a title.
Specifically, he wants his teammates to bottle up the frustration they’re feeling amid the loss to the Nuggets and use it as fuel during the 2023-24 season.
“I’m already thinking about next year. My message to the guys was don’t forget about how you feel right now. Don’t forget everything they wrote about you. Don’t forget about everything they said about you,” Haslem said.
“Because for 20 years, I’ve been feeling the same way about the people who have been writing about me. For 20 years, I’ve been feeling the same way about the people that didn’t draft me. And for 20 years, I’ve been fighting the same battles. And what you see right now is the finished product, because I kept that chip on my shoulder.”
A Special Group
Despite the fact that the Heat were unable to finish the job against Nikola Jokic and Co., Haslem took pride in the fact that he and his teammates — many of whom were undrafted and/or unheralded upon entering the Association — were able to prove the doubters wrong in series after series.
Just as he had done throughout his career.
“This team, truly, truly, more so than any other team I’ve played for, just embodied who I am and what I stand for,” he said. “Not letting anybody pigeonhole you and tell you what you should be, taking that attitude that we can show you better than we can tell you, and literally once again just overcome obstacle after obstacle, getting knocked down and getting up and getting up and getting up.
“This team just embodies everything that I’ve been about for my 20 years, and I’m happy they got a little taste of what it feels like to be in the Finals. I told them they deserve it.”
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