Miami Heat: Can Udonis Haslem become the oldest NBA player ever?

It’s no secret that Udonis Haslem is a Miami Heat legend. With 18 seasons under his belt, the power forward is still going strong.

After the Heat got swept by the Milwaukee Bucks, Haslem announced that he would return for his 19th season. As the team cleaned out their lockers, he talked about getting right back to work.

"“I’m 40 years old. If I take an offseason, I might as well retire,” Haslem stated. “So I don’t have an offseason. Straight from the season, I’m going back into the gym.”"

He only appeared in one game last year, but made sure to leave his mark. Haslem got into a scuffle with Dwight Howard, subsequently getting ejected.

Duncan Robinson talked about it on his podcast and described it as one of his favorite home game moments. It was truly the perfect way for Haslem’s one and only game to play out.

The Miami Heat’s OG, Udonis Haslem, will return for another year. Can he become the oldest NBA player… ever?

With all this in mind, how much does he have left in the tank? Obviously, Haslem’s role is primarily that of a locker presence, but retirement has to be right around the corner… right?

At 41-years-old, he is already the 11th oldest player to play in an NBA game. Out of those, only two other players spent their entire career with one team (John Stockton and Nat Hickey).

This fact leads to one main question regarding the rest of Haslem’s career – can he become the oldest player in NBA history?

Hickey is the oldest player to ever appear in an NBA game. He was 45 years and 363 days old when he played in 1948 for the Providence Steamrollers.

The more modern comparison is Kevin Willis. He was 44 years and 224 days old when he played in a game with the Dallas Mavericks in 2007.

Spending five more years in the league may seem like a lot for Haslem, but he’s shown no signs of slowing down. If he continues to only play a couple games every season, there’s no reason he can’t break the record.

By remaining on the team in the role of a mentor and leader, Haslem has been able to keep his place on the roster. From speeches to advice, he gives everything he can to the Heat.

The fans in Miami absolutely adore him and the organization has too much respect for him to let him walk. At this point, it’s just a matter of when he wants to call it quits.

Haslem already holds the franchise record for rebounds, but this is just another record that might be within reach. Only time will tell if the Miami Heat Legend can break it.