Udonis Haslem, NBA's oldest player, retires from Heat after 20 seasons

Power forward/center Udonis Haslem, the NBA's oldest player, announced his retirement on Friday after 20 seasons, all with the Miami Heat.

Haslem, 43, wasn't drafted out of the University of Florida and played in France for a season before joining the Heat in 2003. He made the all-rookie second team that season.

Though he never was a star, the 6-8, 235-pounder won championships with the Heat in 2006, 2012 and 2013 and became the franchise's all-time leader in offensive rebounds (1,615), defensive rebounds (4,176) and total rebounds (5,791).

"I consider myself extremely blessed to say I can leave this game with no regrets," Haslem posted on Instagram. "The championships, the accolades, the brotherhood, man it’s hard not to be at peace. Undrafted to a 3x Champion, All-Rookie 2nd Team, Teammate Of The Year, the oldest player to play in an NBA finals game, Miami Heat’s all-time leading rebounder and longest-tenured player, the list goes on…"

Haslem's time has been limited in recent seasons. He has not played more than 16 regular-season games since 2015-16, but he also has served as the team's captain.

He played 879 regular-season games, averaging 7.5 points, 6.6 rebounds and 0.8 assists a game.

He played the final 29.1 seconds of Game 3 of the NBA Finals in 2023 to become the NBA's oldest player in the championship round. The game took place two days before his 43rd birthday.

The Heat already have said they would retire his No. 40.

"I will always be the #OG, but now it’s time for the family man and the businessman to get to work," Haslem said. "#40, see you in the rafters soon."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Heat's Udonis Haslem announced NBA retirement after 20 seasons