Heat Legend Udonis Haslem Retires After 20 NBA Seasons: 'See You In the Rafters Soon'

A unique career has come to an end with Udonis Haslem announcing his retirement after 20 seasons with the Miami Heat.

In a post on Instagram, Haslem thanked his "real OGs, the teammates that let me be their OG and to my family for staying ten toes down through it all." He wrapped up the announcement by saying, "see you in the rafters soon."

The announcement doesn't come as a surprise, since Haslem announced last August he was going to re-sign with the Heat for one final season.

The Heat posted a video of several former teammates wishing Haslem well in retirement before the end of the regular season:

A four-year starter at the University of Florida, Haslem was named to the All-SEC team every year he was in college.

Despite his success in college, Haslem went undrafted in the 2002 draft and spent the season playing in France with Chalon-sur-Saône. He signed his first NBA contract with the Heat in August 2003 and appeared in 75 games as a rookie.

This turned out to be the start of a long and fruitful marriage for both parties. Haslem moved into the starting lineup in his second season and remained a staple there for five years before becoming a key bench player for head coach Erik Spoelstra.

During the big-three era with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh from 2010-11 to 2013-14, Haslem ranked in the top three in rebound average in each of the first three seasons. He also won back-to-back titles with the team in 2011-12 and 2012-13.

Haslem effectively started taking on the role of a player-coach during the 2015-16 season. He only appeared in 102 regular-season games over his final eight years, but he did make history as the oldest player to appear in an NBA Finals game when he was subbed in at the end of Miami's 109-94 loss to the Denver Nuggets in Game 3 on June 7.

Dirk Nowitzki, who spent 21 seasons with the Dallas Mavericks, is the only player in NBA history to play more seasons with a single franchise than Haslem.

Haslem is the Heat's all-time leader in total rebounds (5,791) and ranks second to Wade in games played (879) and minutes played (21,719).