Player exit review: Hassan Whiteside continues to grow

Three years ago, Hassan Whiteside was in the D-League. Today, he’s on the Miami Heat and known as one of the best two-way centers in the league.

In several ways, watching Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside is a lot like a thrilling roller coaster ride. At its heights, it can be the most exciting, spectacular experience. At its worst, it’s relatively mediocre, but all-in-all, a consistent thrill.

There’s no doubt Whiteside had some rough patches this year, and the team suffered because of it. At one point, the Heat were 11-30 with less than a one percent chance at making the postseason.

But, like only an Erik Spoesltra-coached team could, he came alive when Miami needed him the very most, and showed that not only is he a tremendous anchor on the defensive end, but is among the very best rebounders in the league (the best, if I can be honest) and a capable force on the offensive end.

After a season in which Whiteside averaged career-highs in points and rebounds, it’s quite clear that he’ll be remembered for far more than just rejecting layups into the stands.

His effort, his desire, and his attention span all made strides this season, and it was evidently clear that his primary focus was winning, not numbers.

Spoelstra seems to agree, also.

"“I think some of his biggest strides have been the winning plays in some of the game where he only had nine rebounds and he loved it,” Spoelstra said, via the Palm Beach Post. “He loved winning, he loved those moments of impacting winning of enjoying someone else’s success. I think that’s the biggest part of his growth.”"

With that being said, let’s take a look at his season.

Best Performance: February 4, 2017 vs. Philadelphia: 30 points, 20 rebounds, 3 blocks, 82 percent shooting.

Whiteside’s most dominating performance of the season came in just 27 minutes of play in a 125-102 blowout against the Philadelphia 76ers.

During the midst of a contest in which the Heat never trailed, Whiteside was at the peak of his powers.

Using his massive seven-foot, 265 pound frame, Whiteside bullied the likes of Nerlens Noel and Ersan Ilyasova, scoring 17 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in the opening nine minutes and 40 seconds.

Earning a double-double in the first half alone is impressive, but to do it in less than one quarter is unheard of, and that’s something that Whiteside did not have the ability to do a year ago.

By the time the final buzzer sounded, he had missed a grand total of three shots while attempting 17 for the game.

He also finished with a plus-24 plus/minus rating, which was only usurped by Dion Waiters, who had a plus-30 on the night.

Whiteside has had games this season in which he logged more points and rebounds, but one can only imagine what his final box score would’ve looked like had he played during the fourth period.

Interesting Stat: 14.1

It couldn’t be more obvious, right?

While this is something I did not have to dig deep for (and I tried, trust me), there is no other statistic that stood out to me more than Whiteside’s rebounding this year.

Since being called up from the D-League in late 2014, Whiteside has always had a knack for shining glass. He’s averaged double-digit boards in every season with the Heat and that trend definitely is not slowing down.

In 77 games played, Whiteside recorded double-digit rebounds in 66 of them, and he had more 20-rebound games than any big man this season, with seven under his belt.

Not only that, he became the first player in franchise history to grab 1,000 or more rebounds in a single season, ending with 1,088 total.

Whiteside also had one of the higher defensive rebounding percentages in the entire league at 35.3 percent.

It’d be easy to dig deep into the analytics of the game to find a statistic that seems rare and unique, but nobody in the NBA rebounded the ball better than Whiteside did this season, and he readily admits it.

"“Leading the league in anything is tough,” he said, via the Palm Beach Post. “Last year it was blocks. This year, it’s rebounding. Just having two big things that you want your center to do is pretty special.”"

What We Learned

If there is one thing we learned about Whiteside this season, it’s that he is far more than the one-dimensional defensive force that he was when he entered the league.

Slowly but surely, he’s morphed into one of the very best at the center position, and is that much closer to being the star that Miami so desperately needs.

No longer is he going to be remembered for his desire to have his NBA 2K rating increased, or for his occasional grammar miscues during post game interviews.

While Miami failed to make the post season for the second time in three years, the future is bright in South Beach, and primarily thanks to no. 21.

Not only did Whiteside prove that he’s beyond capable of putting up hellacious numbers on a consistent basis, he showed that when it comes down to winning time, Spoelstra and company have a viable offensive option down low, whether the play is drawn up for him or not.

Can’t forget the defensive end either, right?

Who could forget the time that Whiteside took on the assignment of defending Bradley Beal one-on-one with less than 10 seconds on the clock.

The Wizards were down three, had the home crowd behind them and Beal clearly had foot speed advantage.

Unable to ultimately shake Whiteside free, Beal was forced to step back and attempt a contested three pointer over the outstretched arms of the seven-footer.

The shot didn’t even make it halfway to the rim, and Miami’s playoff hopes were still alive.

It’s impressive to see a team that possesses zero all stars fight quite like this, and over the course of the second half of the season, Miami took the league by storm, garnering the second-best record in the NBA during that span.

Outside of Goran Dragic and Dion Waiters, Heat fans have Whiteside to thank for that.

Where do we go from here?

It’s simple: we move forward.

Whiteside will remain under contract with the Heat until the summer following the 2019-2020 season, barring an unexpected trade or release.

He’ll be earning the NBA’s maximum salary, living in Miami, and have all the access to Spoelstra and Pat Riley that he desires.

What else can an aspiring big man ask for?

His post moves (particularly that jump hook) could still definitely use some work, and he hasn’t even begun to scratch the surface of his offensive potential.

The 27-year-old has all the tools available to him, and if I were Whiteside, I would personally reach out to the likes of Karrem Abdul-Jabbar, Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaquille O’Neal, or Tim Duncan, legends who made a living off of scoring in the post.

Whiteside has nowhere to go but up. He’s the most feared shot-blocker in the league and arguably the best rebounder in all of basketball.

Next: Rodney McGruder is the scavenger the Heat need

It would be a travesty to even think of moving this man at this point, and it’s safe to assume that Riley realizes that. Expect to see Whiteside blocking shots, and working on that jump hook as a member of the Heat for quite some time.