Udonis Haslem was a little late to receive his award Saturday night.
But Haslem had a valid excuse. The Miami native was busy reliving childhood memories with legendary former Dolphins coach Don Shula before walking into the ballroom at JW Marriott Miami Turnberry Resort & Spa in Aventura.
"You guys got to excuse me if I'm blushing a little bit. If you're a Miami kid and you have the opportunity to stand next to Don Shula, it's like you've really come a long, long, long way," Haslem said with a smile after he was presented with the Don Shula Sports Legend Award at the Reid & Fiorentino Call of the Game Dinner. "I probably talked his ear off for like 10 minutes outside, that's why I was late. I was outside talking to coach about the fake spike. Was it a call? Did Dan [Marino] just do it on his own?"
Haslem was one of the honorees at the charity dinner held yearly for the past decade by Eric Reid and Tony Fiorentino. Luther Campbell was the recipient of the Ted Arison Community Service Award, Judge Rosemarie Aquilina was honored with the Jim Mandich Courage & Commitment Award, and Fiorentino was presented with the Sonny Hirsch Excellence in Sports Broadcasting Award.
Along with asking about Marino's fake spike play, Haslem spent time talking to Shula about his favorite Dolphins player growing up, Jim "Crash" Jensen.
"This is a guy people probably don't know about, but he's a glue guy," Haslem said during his acceptance speech. "He's a guy that did everything for the Dolphins to be successful. He happened to be my favorite player. There's no coincidence that I take after him with the Miami Heat. I'll be the wedge buster, I'll take the foul. I sit on the bench sometimes at night and I lean over to a guy, and I tell [Erik Spoelstra]: 'Spo, I got six fouls tonight if you need me out there. I'll go out there and I'll lay it down for you.' That's just the guy I am."
Haslem, who started his NBA career in 2003 as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Florida, has spent each of his 16 NBA seasons with the Heat. The 38-year-old has been part of all three NBA championship teams in franchise history.
Haslem told the Miami Herald last month that he's leading against retirement and "leaning toward doing one more season." While his on-court role has been limited late in his career, he's served as a captain or co-captain every year since the 2007-08 season.
"I got a chip on my shoulder," Haslem said after accepting the award from Shula. "If you people understand where I come from and the things I've had to endure to get to this point in my career, I keep a chip on my shoulder. And if I don't have one, I'll find one. I'll find a way to be motivated. I will find a way to motivate myself, I will find a way to motivate the people around me and I will find a way to get it done, man.
"I take after guys that are not so much the guys that people would say are the glamour or the glitz guys. I take after the guys that probably change the oil or the tires, more so than the guy that's driving the car. That's fine because without the guy that changes the oil or the tires, the car really can't move. And I'm alright with that."
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