It will be a great night for the Miami Heat organization and former player Udonis Haslem as they will retire his number and hang his jersey up on the rafters to be immortalized for eternity.
However, there is also a game to prepare for Friday night as the team looks to brush off a dreadful loss to the Toronto Raptors as they face the Atlanta Hawks
to the media before the contest about celebrating the career of Haslem while knowing there is a game in front of them. The ceremony to raise the long-time Miami player’s jersey will happen at halftime
Spoelstra was candid to the media before the game saying that he has “mixed emotions” about the ceremony Friday night, but only because it puts into perspective how quickly time moves. Haslem, Spoelstra, and other Heat legends had a dinner the night prior where the reflection was made according to the head coach.
“Really mixed emotions about it. We had a great dinner last night, it was really just cool seeing a bunch of Heat lifers show up for that…to celebrate UD’s impact on our entire organization, on our hearts, and all of 305 down here,” Spoelstra said. “One common thing that UD said is just how fast it goes, then all of a sudden, you have a night like this.
Now, not everybody can have a night like this and that just speaks to UD’s greatness as a culture steward and the relationship that is created here in this organization, it’s remarkable. You look at the names that are up there and UD’s name is going to be up there tonight, it’s surreal.”
