Former Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside, who last played in the NBA in 2021-22, enjoyed his best years in the league with Miami.
After all, in his five seasons with the Heat, he put together a campaign in which he led the league in rebounding and one in which he led the league in blocked shots per contest. Additionally, he finished in the top five for Defensive Player of the Year with two votes.
Years removed from his dominant defensive seasons in a Heat uniform, he is reportedly taking his talents overseas and to China. Whiteside is scheduled to join the Shanghai Sharks for the upcoming CBA campaign.
Vision:
— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) October 28, 2025
Whiteside will join a Sharks team that is already loaded with nothing less than former NBA draft picks. First, guard Tyler Harvey was selected by the Orlando Magic with the No. 51 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, although he never actually played a game in the league.
In addition, center Zhelin Wang was selected in the second round of the 2016 NBA Draft and forward DJ Wilson was selected in the first round of the 2017 NBA Draft. Wilson was actually stuck in the best basketball league in the world for a while, as he was in the NBA for six seasons and played a total of 148 regular season games during that time.
Heat fans should expect Whiteside to look similar on the defensive end to what he did in his days in Miami now that he will be facing a sub. Whiteside is nothing short of a skilled rim protector and he averaged up to 3.7 blocks per game during his season with the Heat. He even led the league in blocked shots per contest back in the latter stages of his pro career when he was with the Portland Trail Blazers.
In all likelihood, he will serve as a defensive anchor for the Sharks, who in turn will rack up plenty of wins during the season. It won’t be easy for opposing teams to score in the paint when Whiteside is in the game and parked low.