Hassan Whiteside’s high school career included a half-dozen stops, including three different high schools in his hometown of Gastonia, North Carolina, over his first two years of high school. As a junior, he moved to Newark, New Jersey, to live with his father and play at East Side High School, where he averaged 18 points, 10 rebounds and 5.5 blocks per game.

As a senior, he moved back to North Carolina and attended Hope Christian Academy. Whiteside then spent a year of prep school at The Patterson School in Lenoir, North Carolina. Recruiting services ranked him as one of the top-20 centers and top-100 players in his high school class.

Despite several offers from SEC schools, Whiteside chose to attend Marshall University, playing for head coach Donnie Jones. During his only season at Marshall, Whiteside recorded three triple-doubles while averaging 13.1 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 5.4 blocks per game. He also led the nation in blocked shots, surpassing Shawn Bradley’s record for the most blocks in a single season by a freshman. When Jones left after the season to become the head coach at Central Florida, Whiteside declared for the NBA Draft.

The Sacramento Kings made Whiteside the 33rd overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft. However, he made just one appearance for the Kings during his rookie season and 18 the following year, spending most of that time in the D-League with the Reno Bighorns or recovering from a partially torn patellar tendon. 

Whiteside began the 2012-13 season in the G League but soon left for a team in Lebanon. In the spring of 2013, he left Lebanon for the Chinese NBL, where he found immediate success. He began the 2013-14 season back in Lebanon, only to return to China after being released in April. Whiteside was briefly with the Memphis Grizzlies during the early part of the 2014-15 season but didn’t appear in any games.

Later that year, Whiteside caught on with the Miami Heat and became a regular contributor. He appeared in 48 games for the Heat during the 2014-15 campaign, including 32 starts, averaging 11.8 points and 10 rebounds per game. Whiteside finished fourth in the NBA’s Most-Improved Player voting. He was even better the next season, leading the NBA in blocks and being named to the All-Defensive Second Team.

During the summer of 2016, Whiteside was rewarded with a four-year, $98 million contract. He responded with his best season, averaging 17 points and 14.1 rebounds per game, leading the NBA in rebounds. Whiteside also averaged a double-double for the Heat during the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons despite missing time both seasons because of a hip injury. During the summer of 2019, he was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers as part of a four-team trade.