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Miami Heat Vice President of Basketball Development Udonis Haslem watches players run drills during an NBA basketball training camp at Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena at Florida Atlantic University on Oct. 2, 2026, in Boca Raton.<\/p>\n
Photo by Matias J. Ocner<\/p>\n
mocner@miamiherald.com<\/p>\n
Miami Heat icon Udonis Haslem\u2019s 20-year playing career ended three years ago. In fact, Haslem is now a Heat executive.<\/p>\n
But Haslem was dripping sweat after the Heat\u2019s training camp practices this week at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. In practice gear, the 46-year-old Haslem ran with Heat players and battled with Heat frontcourt players in one-on-one post-practice drills.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s incredible that he still jumps out on the court with these guys after practice,\u201d Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Haslem before the Heat wrapped up its four-day training camp on Friday. \u201cIt just shows you his level of wanting to serve and be a mentor and just help. He\u2019s able to express that the best when he\u2019s out there bumping and hitting guys, that\u2019s his language. That\u2019s their language as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Haslem, who is entering his fourth season as the Heat\u2019s vice president of basketball development after spending his entire 20-year NBA playing career with Miami, was also there to help fast-track the Heat\u2019s new players this week.<\/p>\n
Two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and veteran forward Bobby Portis, who both were acquired by the Heat this past summer through a blockbuster trade with the Milwaukee Bucks, praised Haslem when asked about his impact during training camp.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s great. He\u2019s honest. He\u2019s tough,\u201d Antetokounmpo said of Haslem, with the Heat opening its five-game preseason schedule on Saturday night against the Toronto Raptors in Quebec City, Canada. \u201cObviously being around the organization for 20-plus years, he brings value to the team as a player and as a guy that can come in and coach us and give us advice. So far, I\u2019ve loved it. He always comes to me and sits with me and asks me how I feel and what I thought about practicing. Sometimes just that little interaction helps you. It goes a long way. I\u2019m looking forward to getting to know him more.\u201d<\/p>\n
Portis added: \u201cMe and UD are kind of similar in using our voice and being a leader and things like that, so it\u2019s been fun to have him around. Obviously, the last couple of days, man, I\u2019ve been hanging out, especially in practice, giving me little pointers, trying to pick up on things a little faster. Obviously, I\u2019m new to the system with the cutting and spacing back out and things like that. So I\u2019m trying to get acclimated to it. So I think it\u2019s good to have guys that\u2019s already been here, that know the system, that can help the new guys.\u201d<\/p>\n
This isn\u2019t new for Haslem. When Haslem isn\u2019t working his other job as a studio analyst on Prime Video\u2019s NBA\u2019s broadcast team, he has been a regular on the Heat\u2019s practice court since his playing career came to an end.<\/p>\n
According to Haslem\u2019s bio on the Heat\u2019s website<\/a>, his responsibilities as the vice president of basketball development \u201cinclude being a resource to the coaching staff, mentoring both Heat and Skyforce players and representing the organization in the community and in business endeavors. Haslem will continue to maintain the culture he helped establish while serving as team captain for a franchise-record 16 consecutive seasons from 2007-23.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI told him when he transitioned into this role, I said, \u2018I know you\u2019re doing TV. That\u2019ll take up some of your schedule, but anytime you can come around, don\u2019t ask. You don\u2019t have to get approved of anything. We\u2019d love to have you around,\u2019\u201d Spoelstra said this week when asked about Haslem\u2019s current position with the Heat. \u201cAnd it\u2019s working out right now with everything. He\u2019s able to find the balance. He loves being around the guys. He loves giving and serving and helping.\u201d<\/p>\n The feeling is mutual, as Heat players love having Haslem around.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s good to have him around,\u201d said Heat center Bam Adebayo, who took over as the Heat\u2019s captain after Haslem retired in 2023. \u201cAs you know, UD is going to talk trash, he\u2019s going to say something that\u2019s going to instigate something, and that\u2019s how we get it going. He doesn\u2019t need to be playing.\u201d<\/p>\n All Haslem needs to do is be there for current Heat players to use him as a resource.<\/p>\n \u201cHe does so much just in terms of talking to guys, pulling them over to the side, encouraging them, correcting them,\u201d Spoelstra said. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to teach that. He just has so much institutional knowledge of how we do things. Of course, he does it with the young guys. But we love him doing it with the new guys that we\u2019ve acquired.\u201d<\/p>\n A good camp<\/p>\n Rookie guard Tre Donaldson was among the Heat\u2019s young players who impressed during training camp this week.<\/p>\n Donaldson, who went undrafted in June out of the University of Miami, is one of three players who the Heat has signed to a two-way contract. A two-way deal allows for players to be on their NBA team\u2019s active list for as many as 50 regular-season games, with other game action having to come in the G League.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s just a dog,\u201d Heat veteran guard Davion Mitchell said when asked about Donaldson during training camp. \u201cIt kind of reminded me of myself when I was in the league, just trying to figure it out. Playing hard. Still making mistakes, obviously, but you learn from those mistakes. But he\u2019s playing really well with all the confidence in the world. I\u2019m excited to see him grow.\u201d<\/p>\n Donaldson, 22, set career highs across the board as a senior at Miami last season. He averaged career highs in points (16.4 per game), rebounds (3.6) and assists (5.7) while shooting 45.4% from the field and 35.9% on threes during his lone season with the Hurricanes.<\/p>\n This story was originally published October 3, 2026 at 11:25 AM.<\/p>\n Related Stories from Miami Herald<\/p>\n
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