Chalon-Sur-Saône (2002–2003) Haslem went undrafted in the
2002 NBA draft primarily due to his relative lack of size for a forward as he measured just at the NBA pre-draft camp.
Seattle SuperSonics coach
Nate McMillan had promised to draft Haslem if he was still available in the second round, but the offer fell through. Haslem accepted an offer to join the
Atlanta Hawks for training camp and made their roster for the
Shaw's Pro Summer League. However, he was released by the Hawks before the start of the
2002–03 NBA season. Haslem signed with
Chalon-Sur-Saône of the French
LNB Pro A. He arrived in France weighing nearly . While in France, Haslem lost in eight months. He averaged 16.1 points and 9.4 rebounds per game in his lone season with the team. As a rookie, Haslem played in the Rookie Challenge during All-Star weekend, earned
NBA All-Rookie Second Team honors, and helped the Heat reach the Eastern Conference Semifinals. In 2004–05, Haslem started in all 80 games in which he appeared, averaging 10.9 points, a career-high 9.1 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in 33.4 minutes per game. Haslem's .540 field goal percentage ranked fifth on the Heat's all-time single-season list then and fourth in the NBA. He appeared in Rookie Challenge for the second straight year, this time for the sophomore team. Haslem re-signed with the Heat in August 2005. Haslem scored a career-high 28 points on November 10, 2006, in a 113–106 victory over the
New Jersey Nets. Since the
2007–08 season, Haslem was the team captain for the Heat. On January 29, 2008, Haslem—who had been the only Miami player to start all 43 games of the
2007–08 season—suffered a sprained ankle during a 117–87 loss to the
Boston Celtics. He returned to action on February 23, only to play in five games before being ruled out for the rest of the season after reaggravating the ankle injury on March 7 against the
Golden State Warriors. Haslem averaged a career-high 12.0 points per game in 2007–08. Haslem continued on with a new-look Heat roster that included
LeBron James and
Chris Bosh teaming up with
Dwyane Wade. In November 2010, Haslem sustained a torn ligament in his foot, which sidelined him for the rest of the regular season. Haslem returned to action in May 2011 during the playoffs. In November 2012, Haslem passed
Alonzo Mourning to become the franchise leader in total rebounds with 4,808, breaking Mourning's previous record of 4,807. Haslem also became the first undrafted player to lead an NBA franchise in rebounding. In June 2013, Haslem won his third championship after the Heat defeated the
San Antonio Spurs in seven games in the
2013 NBA Finals. After the NBA Finals, Haslem revealed that he had played through much of the second half of the
2012–13 season with a torn right meniscus.
2013–23: "Player-coach" role and retirement In
2013–14, Haslem lost the rotation spot that he had long occupied, and his on-court time continued to diminish significantly as the season progressed. Haslem played in just seven games in January and February combined, and played only two total minutes from January 21 to February 27. He played in just 46 regular season games in 2013–14, averaging 3.8 points and 3.8 rebounds. The Heat returned to the
NBA Finals in 2014 for the fourth straight year, where they were defeated in five games by the Spurs. Following the 2013–14 season, Haslem decided to opt out of the final year of his contract. Haslem re-signed with the Heat on a two-year deal in July 2014. At this point of his career, Haslem transitioned into a role that he and the organization described as a "player-coach", in that he rarely played on court but was more of a mentor to the younger players and assisted in their coaching. Haslem re-signed with the Heat on one-year deals in 2016, 2017, and 2018. In January 2019, Haslem indicated that the
2018–19 season would be his last. However, a few months later, Haslem stated that he had not decided if he was retiring and the decision would not be made until the
2019–20 season. On August 6, 2019, Haslem re-signed with the Heat on a one-year contract. During the 2019–20 season, he played in four games, including starting at power forward in a 109–92 loss to the
Indiana Pacers during the regular-season finale. During that season, Haslem became the 30th player in league history to play after turning 40 years old, as well as the first modern era undrafted player to play to that age. Following
Vince Carter's retirement during the
suspension of the season due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, Haslem became the
oldest active player in the NBA. The Heat reached the
2020 NBA Finals, losing in six games to the
Los Angeles Lakers; Haslem was on the active roster but did not play in the postseason. On November 28, 2020, Haslem re-signed with the Heat. He played in one game in the
2020–21 season, on May 13, 2021, against the
Philadelphia 76ers. Haslem scored four points in two minutes off the bench before getting ejected as a result of a scuffle with
Dwight Howard, making the 40-year-old Haslem the oldest player in the last 20 years to get ejected. On August 15, 2021, Haslem re-signed with the Heat. On August 23, 2022, Haslem announced his intentions to retire after the
2022–23 season, re-signing with the Heat for another year. In his final regular season game on April 9, 2023, Haslem scored 24 points in 25 minutes during a 123–110 victory over the
Orlando Magic. He became the second 42-year-old in NBA history to score 24 or more points in a game after
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar did so in Game 3 of the
1989 NBA Finals and it marked Haslem's highest-scoring output since 2009. His three
three-point shots in the game was a career-high. At the age 42 years and 363 days, Haslem became the oldest person to play in the NBA Finals when he entered the fourth quarter of Game 3 of the
NBA Finals with 29.8 seconds remaining, breaking the mark of 42 years, 58 days set by
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1989. After the Heat lost the NBA Finals to the
Denver Nuggets in five games, Haslem officially announced his retirement on July 28, 2023. The Heat retired Haslem's 40 jersey on January 19, 2024. ==Post-playing career==