On Nov. 21, 2012, Udonis Haslem came down with the 4,808th rebound of his NBA career, setting a Miami Heat all-time franchise record. He came down with 983 more boards before calling it a career -- but now, it appears that one of his former Heat mentees may be on pace to surpass him.
Three-time All-Star and Miami franchise cornerstone Bam Adebayo became the team's all-time leader in double-doubles on Mar. 3. Just weeks earlier, he moved into second on the franchise's all-time rebounding list, putting him on Haslem's heels for the top spot.
Considering Adebayo's average of 10 rebounds per game this campaign, the 27-year-old big man is on pace to break Haslem's record potentially as soon as next season. Despite the two sharing the bench as teammates between 2017 and 2023, Haslem joked that he won't be pulling for Adebayo in his chase for the history books.
"I love him... but I don't love him that much," Haslem said.
Adebayo, on the other hand, made it clear that he's coming for his former mentor's record -- although he still indicated there's nothing but love and mutual respect between the two.
"That just would be the ultimate respect to surpass somebody like that who has won three championships, went undrafted, been with this franchise 20 years," Adebayo said. I'm going to catch him at some point."
Haslem originally signed with the Miami Heat in 2003 after a four-year collegiate tenure with the Florida Gators. He served as a team captain for 16 years and played a key role in all three of Miami's NBA Finals runs in 2006, 2012 and 2013.
Adebayo, who was drafted by the Heat out of Kentucky in 2017, has since established himself as one of the greatest big men in franchise history. Nevertheless, he still has a ways to go before catching Haslem on the trail of record-breaking greatness.
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This story was originally published March 9, 2025 at 6:03 PM.