“May She Rest in Peace”: Dwyane Wade and More Join Udonis Haslem as He Bids Goodbye to “Guardian Angel”

Published 12/13/2023, 10:30 AM EST

Circumstances and situations have not always been kind to 3x champion Udonis Haslem. In absent-presence of a mother and father who were struggling with drug addiction, enter Barbara Wooten, who ensured that the 3-year-old Udonis didn’t have a parentless childhood. In fact, when Barbara was deemed as Ms. Consistent by Udonis himself, he wasn’t wrong for she texted him a prayer before every game to read when he woke up from his afternoon nap. After he lost his biological mother Debra to cancer in 2010, he claimed that Barbara was “basically all I have left.”

Barbara Wooten is no more but her legacy and goodwill lives on through Udonis and the life he has built around him as a husband to wife, Faith, and father to three sons, Kedonis, Elijah, and Josiah. Today, when one looks back at what Haslem accomplished in his NBA career, it is pretty evident how Barbara has been involved through and through. But there was a special something that Udonis did to keep both his mothers closer to him as he went through the ebbs and flows of his life.

How Barbara Wooten helped Udonis Haslem discover his talents in the sport

While Wooten was busy climbing the corporate ladder back in the day, a young Udonis was looking up to her. When Wooten landed a job in Jacksonville, Udonis Haslem went with her. He was in his early teens and that’s where he discovered his love for the sport. He quickly carved a name for himself there with his skills. They lived in Jacksonville for seven years and during that time, Wooten was working for ‘American Express’- a Fortune 500 company. However, her job transferred her back to Miami and Haslem moved again with her.

In Miami, he joined Miami Senior High School, which further cultivated his skills. He started taking basketball seriously and aimed to play at the University of Florida as a starting center and eventually, the NBA. The oldest player to play in the NBA finals never forgot his Liberty City roots as he progressed in his career. In fact, when a family friend passed away in 2003, during his first season with the Heat, he and Wooten provided for the children left behind with school supplies.

This incident led to the start of his foundation, UD kids, which in 2022, became the Udonis Haslem Foundation. Barbara Wooten remained an active member in all the initiatives taken by the organization.

Wooten’s death comes as a big loss for Udonis Haslem and the community. He shared a video of Wooten’s message to the world, “Education is the key. And you don’t have to be a product of your environment.” Udonis Haslem wrote, “#myguardianangel” The cause of her death is not yet known.

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A post shared by Udonis Haslem (@ud40)

“You need to always put your best foot forward in whatever you do,” she said and back in 2006, Haslem did just that. Miami Heat won its first NBA title in Dallas in 2006. Mr. 305 played with a separated shoulder. He guarded Nowitzki, the best player from Dallas. As a result, the latter didn’t have a field goal in the fourth quarter and Miami won 95-92. Haslem had 17 points and 10 rebounds. Clearly, Wooten’s philosophy shaped Haslem from the very start.

Back in 2015, he purchased a six-bedroom home for Wooten just to say “thank you”—after all, it was a small token to pay for all the sleepless nights she must have spent rocking the infant child to sleep. Eventually, he got her name ‘Barbara’ tattooed near his left collarbone, stating, “It takes a special woman to raise a kid that’s not her natural-born son.”

Having spent years with Udonis Haslem, his Miami Heat brother Dwyane Wade also responded to the video posted by Haslem with a heart emoji. Along with this, fans started showing their love and admiration for the late Barbara Wooten, who has had a wholesome influence on a lot of people.

Fans shared their condolences for the huge loss

After finding out about the passing of Barbara Wooten, one fan wrote, “My deepest condolences to you and the family. May she rest in peace”
Having witnessed Barbara’s kindness in person, one person shared, “Ms. Barbara – such a joy to be around. My deepest condolences.”
Another person wrote, “Eileen introduced me to your Mom. She would always say hello to me before chatting with Eileen and heading to her seat. Iâ€™m going to miss her generosity and smile. RIP Barbara.”

As everyone expressed their sadness after hearing the unfortunate news from Udonis Haslem, one fan summed it up and said, “She will be dearly missed and fondly remembered.”
My heart is broken she was a sweetheart and lovely person. She made sure Lorah Park Elementary got everything they needed. God bless her Thank you for all the wonderful blessings you gave us Thank you Barbara,” a person wrote.

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Written by:

I did not follow the traditional route to become a journalist, but my love for basketball and writing has brought me here. Seeing LeBron James? Cleveland Cavaliers make the iconic comeback from a 1-3 deficit in 2016 changed everything for a young engineering aspirant within me. Rather than simply looking at the game, I love to analyze how each player contributes to a team using BPM (Box Plus Minus) and other advanced metrics.

Edited by:

Caroline Joseph