You know Miami Heat legend Udonis Haslem, right? Last year, the Heat retired his No. 40 jersey. But here’s something shocking, a three-time NBA champion, a franchise icon, was once undrafted. Going undrafted isn’t uncommon. Players like José Manuel Calderón and Ben Wallace overcame it to become champions. But for Haslem, the frustration of being overlooked nearly landed him in jail. So, what exactly happened?

Three-time NBA champion Udonis Haslem recently appeared on the Out of the Mud podcast and shared moments from his life, including run-ins with the police. He then revealed something that surprised many fans but not those who truly know him. Given his past encounters with law enforcement, it wasn’t a big deal in hindsight. Haslem shared his frustration about going undrafted after playing for the University of Florida. And believe it or not that frustration almost got him arrested. On his way to France, he caused a disturbance on the plane. He recalled, “I almost got arrested on the plane, me and my auntie.”

Explaining the situation, Haslem said, “They give you one first class or two coach, so I took my auntie with me, so we took two coach seats.” That decision led to trouble mid-flight. Haslem continued, “You know it’s tight in coach, so I tell the man in front of me. I say, listen, it’s tight on here. Got a long flight. Can’t really let your seat back, I’m tall” But things didn’t go as he had hoped. After about 45 minutes, the man in front of him couldn’t sit upright any longer and slightly reclined his seat and “boom.” Frustrated about going undrafted, Haslem saw this minor incident as a trigger point for emotions he couldn’t unleash on the court.

Haslem said, “Man, I took that motherf—–’s seat and boom, hit that motherf—–and he poped up out of the chair.” Boy! One thing that is clear from this incident is that never poke a pi—d-off veteran. However, he admitted this wasn’t his usual behavior. It all stemmed from frustration about playing in Europe. Haslem explained, “This frustration is just built up just because I’m mad, I’m going to Europe anyway.”

At this point in his life, neither he nor his teammates knew what kind of monster he would become after returning to the NBA nine months later. But that wasn’t the end of his troubles. Haslem was arrested multiple times in France, including one incident where he and his aunt were taken into custody on the streets.

Udonis Haslem and his arrest while playing overseas in France

Before Udonis Haslem became a three-time NBA champion, his journey in France was not something that any man would want. On The Pat Bev Podcast, co-host Rone asked him about life in Europe compared to the U.S. And that question there, opened the floodgates. Haslem recalled getting arrested multiple times mostly for speeding and the language barrier only made things worse. One incident, in particular, was something very interesting to hear. He and his aunt ended up in police custody due to a strike in France. Looking back, it’s a story that might bring a smirk on your face.

Haslem said, “The second time they were going through a transportation strike, so buses were shut down, the trains were shut down, they were striking,”. And the reason? Buckle up because this might give you a shock. “There was also a time that one of our leaders had said something about french fries, there was a comment made about french fries. So during that strike, there was a lot of people in the street saying Americans go home.” He said. And bad luck piled up for Haslem as he was on the road at that time in his car with his aunt.

Haslem continued, “Me and my aunt happened to be out, traveling out and about, and as they were saying Americans go home, they didn’t want to get out of the way of our car. So now my aunt’s like, okay, I’m going to take you motherf—— with us. Motherf—— took me to jail again.” Man! It seems like the cops always find a reason to catch him whether he trying to avoid trouble or not.