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Udonis Haslem made some waves with Boston Celtics fans this week. During a recent episode of “The OGs” podcast, Haslem joined former Miami Heat player Mike Miller and current Heat center Bam Adebayo.
Adebayo recalled a time when Haslem, who played all 20 of his NBA seasons with the Heat, once made a nasty comment about Russell before a game with the Celtics. The game came after Russell’s No. 6 jersey was retired by all NBA teams after his death in 2022, prompting Haslem to say, ‘F*** Bill Russell’ during a pregame speech. Former Celtics player Cedric Maxwell weighed in on Haslem’s disrespect of the former Celtics center.
Udonis Haslem Explains Comment About Bill Russell
Adebayo joined co-hosts Haslem and Miller on the podcast, and Adebayo explained how the Haslem comment went down.
“We’re playing Boston, so you know his feelings,” Adebayo said. “We’re in the huddle. and you know, (Haslem) comes in there and gives a pregame speech and, you know, they retired Bill Russell’s jersey for everybody in the league.
“So, they’ve got ‘6’ in our rafters and he ends his pregame speech like, ‘F*** Bill Russell, too.’ I said, bro, this man is dead, OG.”
Haslem explained that he loved Russell.
“I had to repent that. I love Bill,” Haslem said. “No disrespect to Bill. I love Bill, it’s just, he caught that stray … I respect Bill Russell, I love him but why the f*** does he have to hang in here? The s*** that comes out of them people’s mouths to us when we were playing there?
“I might not take back what I said, now that I think about it. The s*** that they said to us.”
Russell won 11 championships with the Celtics and was a five-time MVP. While he shined on the basketball court, he also was a civil rights activist. Playing in Boston during the 1950s and the 1960s, he battled discrimination throughout his career. He also became the first Black coach in NBA history.
Cedric Maxwell Reacts to Haslem’s Comment on Russell
Maxwell played eight seasons with the Celtics in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He won two championships with the team and was named MVP of the 1981 NBA Finals. He had plenty of respect for Russell and weighed in on Haslem’s comment during a recent episode of the “Cedric Maxwell Podcast.”
“He was just trying to rile his guys up,” Maxwell said. “You’ve heard Lebron, ‘I hate Boston.’
“This shouldn’t be about Bill Russell. This is about his legacy as a Black man in this league. That should never be approached. It’s the same way as if some player said, ‘F*** Jackie Robinson. That number is retired all around Major League Baseball because of what he did — the color line — all that. Bill Russell went through the same things and was a champion.
“I couldn’t disagree with Udonis any more, and I like Udonis Haslem. I really do. What he was doing was trying pump his team up. At the same time, this isn’t about Heat culture. This is about the history of the NBA. Bill Russell is bigger than the Miami Heat. He’s bigger than all these other teams. He’s bigger than that because of what he did to this league and what he endured.
“As much as I love Udonis Haslem, this time I think he’s wrong.”
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