NBA
Udonis Haslem’s love of soup in NBA bubble leads to special delivery
After Campbell’s mailed 192 cases of soup to the Miami Heat, Haslem plans to donate some to homeless shelter
5:12 PMMiami Heat forward Udonis Haslem recently told The Undefeated he often eats Campbell’s Chunky Soup in the NBA bubble over the food offered on-site. In appreciation, Campbell Soup Co. mailed 192 cases of soup to the NBA bubble for Haslem to enjoy with his teammates.
At 6-foot-8 and 235 pounds, Haslem has no problems consuming numerous cans by himself. But 2,304 cans?
Haslem said he took 40 cans for his room and plans to offer some to his Heat teammates. As for the rest, the Miami native said he plans to send most of the soup to a homeless shelter in the Orlando, Florida, area, where his Heat will begin playing in the NBA Finals on Wednesday.
“It was crazy. I can’t eat it all, but I’m going to ship some home,” Haslem, 40, told The Undefeated after practice on Tuesday for the NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers. “I am going to ship some to some [homeless] shelters and I am going to give some to my teammates because these young boys don’t know anything about Campbell’s soup. They’re tripping. They just know the old Campbell’s chicken noodle soup. They don’t know there are like, 50 different flavors. You got the corn chowder. You got the chicken potpie. You got the roast beef. They don’t understand all that. I’m trying to upgrade them.”
Udonis Haslem’s food in his room in Disney World
Marc Spears
Campbell’s also sent a letter that was addressed to the Heat:
“We saw that Udonis brought some Chunky soup to the Bubble, but not quite enough for the whole team and staff. That is why we’re sending over this Heat-sized ‘combat pack’ so you can all fuel up with Chunky. After all, even the Heat need to stay warm!”
The three-time NBA champion said Campbell’s found his home address and mailed pallets of soup there, too.
While Haslem’s time in the bubble will end soon, he said that if Campbell’s Chunky Soup, which has a long history of doing commercials with pro athletes and their mothers, does another ad, he would be a natural fit.
“They wouldn’t even have to write me a script if I did a Campbell’s Chunky Soup commercial,” Haslem said. “I can come off the dome with it because I’ve been eating it for so long. A lot of those guys doing the commercials are younger guys. They might eat it now, but I’m an OG. I’m an original.”