Find someone who loves you with the same passion that Udonis Haslem hates the Boston Celtics.
The retired NBA big man developed a fierce dislike for the Celtics during his 20-year playing career with the Miami Heat, which included six playoff series against Boston in a span of just 14 years. And Haslem’s animosity toward his Eastern Conference rival apparently took a bold turn last season.
During an appearance on “The OGs Show” with hosts Haslem and former NBA player Mike Miller, current Heat big man Bam Adebayo revealed that Haslem once cursed out Celtics legend Bill Russell — whose No. 6 was retired across the NBA after he died in July 2022 — in his pregame speech before a C’s-Heat game in Miami.
“We playing Boston, so you know his feelings,” Adebayo said. “So we’re in the huddle. Cap (Haslem) come in there, he gave his pregame speech, and you know they retired Bill Russell’s jersey for everybody in the league. So they got 6 in our rafters. And he ends his pregame speech like, ‘F— Bill Russell, too.’ I said, ‘This man dead, OG!'”
To his credit, Haslem insisted he meant no disrespect to Russell. But he doubled down on hating that Russell’s green-and-white No. 6 is retired in Miami’s arena.
“I had to repent that. I love Bill,” Haslem said. “No disrespect to Bill. I love you. He just caught that stray. But will you ever see a Miami Heat jersey hanging in the Boston rafters? Respect to Bill Russell, I love him. Why the f— he got to hang in here?
“The s— that comes out of people’s mouths to us when we playing there (in Boston)? I might not take back what I said, now that I think about it.”
We can understand why Haslem isn’t thrilled about seeing a Celtics jersey hanging in his own rafters. But as many have pointed out, Russell’s No. 6 isn’t even the only opponent’s jersey retired by the franchise. The Heat retired Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls No. 23 for “contributions to basketball” back in 2003 — six years before they retired a number of one of their own players (Alonzo Mourning).
It’s also a wild move for Haslem to take his anger out on Russell, who’s one of the NBA’s most venerated figures both for his success on the court and his activism off the court in the American civil rights movement. But Haslem’s disdain for the Celtics clearly doesn’t have many guardrails.
“Them old motherf—ers, KG (Kevin Garnett) and Paul (Pierce), I don’t f— with y’all,” Haslem added. “If I see y’all in the grocery store, it’s on. I don’t care what aisle it is. It can be a 7/11 around the cheese dip; all of it’s getting flipped over.”
The Heat host the Celtics on January 25, and while Haslem has transitioned to a front office role with the franchise, it’s obvious he’ll have that game circled on his calendar.
