With Dwyane Wade now playing with the Chicago Bulls and Chris Bosh‘s future up in the air, the Miami Heat will only have one team captain this season. It was an easy decision to make according to head coach Erik Spoelstra.
The 45-year-old bench tactician has named forward Udonis Haslem as the team's captain once again. The 13-year veteran has played all 13 seasons of his career with the Heat and has become the team's longest-tenured captain in franchise history.
Spoelstra discussed his obvious choice and also talked about how Haslem has accepted his role with the team what he brings to the table. Per Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel:
“Some things just become so abundantly obvious that you don't need to make a decision, And from day one in training camp, everybody saw that U.D. was the primary captain and leader. And he's really embraced that.
“He's become more of a leader every single year and this year he understood that there's even more of a necessity and a responsibility since we're incorporating new faces. But to show the way of what it means to be a Miami Heat player, I can't express how enjoyable it's been to see U.D. grow and embrace that leadership and become a better leader. It's really fun to see.”
This season will mark a new beginning for the Heat who will not have Wade on their roster for the first time in 13 seasons. The team also has a number of young players who will be making their debut for the franchise this year.
Haslem looks to continue what Wade and Bosh have done with him the past years in leading the team and also mentioned how pleased he is with their current squad:
“I've taken a lot from all those guys. Dwyane's approach to things, maybe more of a guy that gets guys together and different things like that. C.B. is more of an intellectual approach, pulling guys to the side, maybe having dinner with one specific guy at a time and doing different things like that. And then obviously my aggressive approach in being myself, as well. So I've been able to take a lot of different things to lead these guys.
“I'm a lot better than I used to be, If it needs to be, but I don't think as much. I'm really happy with this group. These guys work really hard. They're present in the mind and in the body every day. And that's all I can ask for.”
It will definitely be something new for Haslem to be the sole captain of the team but given his experience and respect he has gotten over the years, he won't have difficulty filling in the role.
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