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Video: Heat's Udonis Haslem Ejected After Confronting 76ers' Dwight Howard
May 14, 2021
Udonis Haslem made his season debut Thursday night, and it was over almost as soon as it started.
The Miami Heat forward, who was appearing in just his 15th game across the last three seasons and fifth in the last two seasons, lasted two minutes against the Philadelphia 76ers before he was tossed for making contact with Dwight Howard. Haslem and Howard had gotten tangled up in an earlier play leading to the Heat forward falling to the floor.
He logged four points with a rebound in two minutes.
While it wasn't exactly pretty, it was also historic. Haslem will turn 41 on June 9 and as such became the oldest player to hit the court for the Heat in franchise history. He is also the oldest player to appear in an NBA game this season, taking the title from 38-year-old Anderson Varejao in Cleveland, per Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press.
Haslem is in his 18th season in the league and has spent all of them with the Heat. He signed a one-year deal with the team in the offseason, and it's willing to bring him back "as a captain and behind-the-scenes player who doesn't play" next season.
“I just take it one day at a time, and we’ll figure it out,” Haslem said, per Reynolds. “The goal now is to win a championship. And then, you know, we’ll go from there. I can’t really think past today. I’ve been told just take it one day at a time and you know when I get to the summer, that’s when I think about that.”
