From playing in Lebanon, to being the starting center for the Miami Heat, Hassan Whiteside has had one heck of a comeback year.
Whiteside signed with the Memphis Grizzlies on September 25, 2014, and then later waived less than a month into his Grizzlies career. On November 24, the Godfather himself, Pat Riley, gave Whiteside a new home and signed him on November 24. At the time, the signing did not look like much, but it eventually proved to be the biggest highlight of the Miami Heat’s 2014-15 season.
He slowly earned more playing time, going from averaging only 10.2 minutes a game in the month of January, to then averaging 31.7 minutes per game in April. Even with limited playing time, Whiteside slowly became one of the best centers in the league. He ended the season averaging 11.8 points, 10.0 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game, all while shooting 62.8 percent from the field. He ranked 7th in points per game, 3rd in rebounds and first in blocks among all NBA centers.
Surprisingly, Whiteside was able to rank in the top-10 in several major categories despite the fact that he ranked 23rd among all centers in usage rate. With more playing time, Whiteside’s numbers could skyrocket. Per 36 minutes, he averaged 17.8 points, 15.2 rebounds and 3.9 blocks.
When comparing Whiteside’s numbers to the other centers in the league, he’s usually amongst good company. According to Yahoo Sports, the only other centers to average a double double this season were DeAndre Jordan, Tyson Chandler and Dwight Howard. In only 48 games, Whiteside racked up 22 double-doubles. The only other player in the league to have over 20 double-doubles in fewer than 50 games was Dwight Howard.
Hassan Whiteside is a demigod
— Mike Ryan (Ruiz) 🙌🏽 (@MichaelRyanRuiz) April 1, 2015
But putting all those numbers aside, Whiteside’s most astonishing accomplishment was his 26.26 player efficiency rating, which ranked first among all Eastern Conference players, per ESPN’s Hollinger stats. Yes, even higher than the great LeBron James (26.01). Whiteside also led the entire league with a 34.7 Defensive Rebounding Rate.
However, some basketball experts argue that Whiteside was simply looting stats on a below .500 team. With the absence of Chris Bosh, the Heat were forced to depend on the inexperience big to carry the load, and to Whiteside’s credit, he exceeded everyone’s wildest expectations.
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Whiteside started his run of success by proving his worth on the defensive end of the court. In today’s NBA, 7-footers who can run the floor and protect the rim are insanely valuable and hard to come by. Many fans probably remember Whitside’s triple-double performance versus the Chicago Bulls, in which he collected 12 blocks in only 25 minutes. To put that into perspective, that’s roughly a block every two minutes.
As the season went on, Whiteside started to become a dangerous two-way threat. His breakout game of the year came on February 2, in a crushing 102-101 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, when Whiteside collected an astonishing 24 points, 20 rebounds, two blocks and three steals, while shooting a ridiculous 92.3 percent from the floor.
The most comparable player to Whiteside would be the Los Angeles Clippers’ DeAndre Jordan. Both bigs are in their mid-twenties, known for their defense, and sometimes mocked for their lack of offensive skillset. At one point in the year, it looked like Whiteside’s ceiling would be DeAndre Jordan, but by the end of April Jordan seemed to be his floor.
Offensively, Whiteside has proven to be the more dangerous player. When comparing the two player’s 2014-15 shot charts, it’s clear that Whiteside was able to spread out the floor more than Jordan. According to 82games.com, Whiteside had a Simple Net Rating of +10.5, besting Jordan’s Simple Net Rating of +8.9.
Whiteside may only have 32 starts under his belt, but his athleticism and potential are evident. Only time will tell if he has what it takes to become a top-five center in this league, but until then, Miami Heat fans will just have to hope for the best. And most importantly, Heat fans have to hope he re-signs with the team in 2016 when he becomes an unrestricted free agent, but we can worry about that later.
To Hassan be the glory!