Hassan Whiteside compares playing for Heat to Rocky fighting Ivan Drago
Hassan Whiteside's story is quite remarkable, and it's a fact that's not lost on him.
In a recent Q&A with the Palm Beach Post, the Miami Heat center reflected on his unique -- and unparalleled -- journey from a second-round pick who flamed out of the league to a potential franchise cornerstone and max-player this summer:
Do you ever stop and think about how absurd your story is?
Whiteside: “Yeah, all the time. I think about it a lot. Some days I feel like this might just be a really long dream that I’m gonna wake up from eventually. But when you work hard for something and you hope it works out a certain way, and when it do, it’s really gratifying.”
After being drafted by the Sacramento Kings with the 33rd pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, Whiteside hung around the NBA for two years -- playing 19 total games and bouncing around the D-League -- before being cut by the Memphis Grizzlies twice and not playing in an official game for two seasons.
Then, out of almost nowhere, the Heat gave him a chance heading into the 2014-15 season, and it changed his life -- and possibly the course of the franchise. Even then, though, the Heat sent Whiteside down to the D-League for a three-day stint in mid-December -- after he had already put up three double-doubles.
Once he returned, Whiteside averaged 14.2 points, 12.4 rebounds and 2.9 blocks over the rest of the season, emerging as a legitimate two-way interior force and a potential All-Star. Whiteside felt his hard work would pay off at some point, but he never imagined it playing out like this.
As a result, Whiteside feels his journey is similar to that of another (fictional) star athlete with a rags-to-riches story: Rocky Balboa.
In the interview, Whiteside compared playing for and thriving with the Heat -- and subsequently overcoming all of the doubts regarding his NBA future -- to Balboa training to fight and defeating Russian supervillain Ivan Drago (or, as Whiteside referred to him, "the Russian") in Rocky IV:
As confident as you are, did you ever expect to be in this position?
Whiteside: “I kinda hoped it’d be like this, but I never thought they’d be talking about the free agency numbers and all that stuff like they are. That all happened really quick. The preparation took so long, but my time here has been quick. When you’ve been training like Rocky, when it’s finally time to fight the Russian, you ready. When I got my Heat contract, it was time to fight the Russian.”
It's a fascinating comparison that makes (some) sense on the surface. Whiteside making the Heat roster and inexplicably putting it all together and developing into an All-Star candidate was an incredible challenge; so, too, was an older Balboa getting back into shape to fight arguably his most impressive opponent.
Their paths are different for a variety of reasons -- Rocky is fictional, of course, and he was arguably the best boxer ever (Whiteside is clearly not the best basketball player ever), for one -- but it's the same gist. Neither athlete was supposed to succeed, yet both defied the odds and ridiculously rose to stardom.
When a player falls out of favor in the NBA, he rarely returns. If he miraculously does, it's often as a bit player -- especially if he's already in his mid-20s. But Whiteside struggling to crack an NBA rotation, then somehow blossom into arguably a top-5 center, is as amazing as it is insane.
Now, Whiteside will be entering 2016 free agency seeking a max contract, potentially from the Heat. It's not quite as impressive as single-handedly ending the Cold War with one fight, but it's close enough.
Jovan Buha covers the NBA for FOX Sports. Follow him on Twitter: @jovanbuha.
