Heat legend speaks on the greatness of prime Hassan Whiteside
Once LeBron James made his free agent departure from the Miami Heat to return to his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers, things looked bleak in South Beach. As Pat Riley has mentioned before, his master plan all came “crumbling down” so quickly. The creation of the James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh “big three” was supposed to become a much longer term dynasty in the NBA.
Riley had to pivot in bringing in some other All-Star caliber talent during that 2014 offseason by bringing in Luol Deng and eventually Goran Dragic. However, an unexpected talent emerged through the Heat’s development system that same season in Hassan Whiteside.
The Heat seemed to have found a diamond in the rough with Whiteside, who earned a spot through G-League play after being cut by the Sacramento Kings. He brought a dominant big man presence to either pair with Bosh in the frontcourt and/or play without him, due to Bosh’s sudden blot clot situation. In Whiteside’s first year in Miami, he averaged 11.8 points, 10.0 rebounds and 2.6 blocks on 62.8% shooting across 48 games back in the 2014-15 season.
Heat legend Udonis Haslem recently had Whiteside on his podcast, “The OG’s Show”, where Haslem spoke about the greatness of the up and coming big man at the time:
“I played around some of the greatest centers… but they couldn’t do what he did.”
This intriguing statement was in reference to Whiteside’s triple-doubles with blocks back in the 2015-2018 seasons with the Heat. Some stat lines during those years from his performances include:
- 14 points, 13 rebounds, 12 blocks
- 29 points, 20 rebounds, 9 blocks
- 30 points, 20 rebounds (ninth 30/20 game in Heat history at the time)
- 22 points, 14 rebounds, 10 blocks
- 19 points, 17 rebounds, 11 blocks
His talent as a natural true center in this league was noticeable right out of the gate. The awareness he posed with the ability to provide elite rim protection defensively and finish at the basket was undeniable. For a Heat team that lacked a legitimate big for years prior, even forcing Bosh to slide to the five rather than his natural power forward position, the Whiteside find brought a new dimension.
He would go on to lead the entire league in blocks (3.7) with the Heat back in the 2015-16 campaign, and then follow that up with leading the league in rebounds (14.1) the season after. There is a lot of talk surrounding Heat fans with the notion that once Whiteside got paid his max contract heading into the 2016-17 season, his effort changed in a negative way. As much as that could be true, there just isn’t enough context to that conversation.
The Bam Adebayo drafting in 2018 ultimately pushed Whiteside out of the starting lineup. His lack of basketball IQ and hunger after getting paid was an issue, but Adebayo’s incredible potential himself at the same position also contributed to his tenure not working out. Once Jimmy Butler came into the picture, Whiteside’s contract had to be sacrificed to have the necessary cap space.
No matter how many people may disregard the insane talent during his Heat tenure after the way it ended, prime Whiteside was truly special.