Hassan Niam Whiteside (born June 13, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association. He played college basketball for the Marshall Thundering Herd before being selected in the second round by the Sacramento Kings in the 2010 NBA draft. After joining the Miami Heat in 2014, Whiteside was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team in 2016, when he also led the NBA in blocks. He led the league in rebounding in 2017. He was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers and again led the league in blocks in his first season with Portland. Whiteside has also played on Chinese, Lebanese and Puerto Rican teams.

Early life Whiteside grew up with six siblings and a single mother. Born and raised in Gastonia, North Carolina, he attended three high schools in two years within the area: Hunter Huss High School, Ashbrook High School, and Forestview High School.

For his junior year of high school in 2006–2007, Whiteside moved in with his father in Newark, New Jersey, playing at East Side High School. After averaging 18 points, 10 rebounds, and 5.5 blocked shots per game, Whiteside went back to North Carolina for the 2007–2008 school year and attended Hope Christian Academy in Kings Mountain, North Carolina. In 2008–2009, he played prep basketball at The Patterson School in Lenoir, North Carolina, where he helped lead Patterson to a 34–2 record and a No. 1 national ranking with future Marshall teammate DeAndre Kane.

Whiteside was rated as the No. 19 center in the Class of 2009 according to Scout.com, and ranked as the No. 87 recruit in the Class of 2009 by Rivals.com. He played in the 2009 Reebok All-American preview game, and was a member of both the United Celtics (NC) AAU Team and the New Jersey Panthers AAU team as a high schooler.

College career Whiteside chose Marshall over UNC Charlotte, South Carolina, Kentucky, Auburn, and Mississippi State.

Whiteside came to Marshall University under the radar during the start of the 2009–10 season, but it did not take long for him to make national attention. He was spotlighted in the edition of December 28 of ESPN The Magazines College Basketball column after he amassed 14 points, 17 rebounds and nine blocked shots over 29 minutes in a 60–53 win over the Ohio University Bobcats on November 28. A few weeks later on December 12, Whiteside recorded the Thundering Herd's first triple-double in a 105–54 rout of the Brescia Bearcats, scoring 17 points, grabbing 14 rebounds and blocking 11 shots. Whiteside would go on to have two more triple-doubles on the year against the UCF Knights on January 13, and February 27. He finished the season as the nation's leader in blocked shots with 182, and he also broke the C-USA record held by Tulsa's Jerome Jordan for most blocked shots in a single season and the Marshall record for the most blocked shots in a single season and career all in his first year. The 182 blocks were also a national record for a freshman in a single season, topping 177 by BYU's Shawn Bradley in 1990–91.

On March 29, 2010, Whiteside declared himself eligible for the 2010 NBA draft, after Marshall head coach, Donnie Jones, accepted the head coaching job at Conference USA rival UCF Knights.

Professional career Sacramento Kings (2010–2012) Whiteside was selected by the Sacramento Kings with the 33rd overall pick in the 2010 NBA draft. He played in the Kings' season opener, recording two fouls in two minutes against the Minnesota Timberwolves, before failing to appear in another game for the Kings all season. He spent time with the Kings' D-League affiliate, the Reno Bighorns, between November 29 and January 9, before being ruled out for four to six months on March 4 after undergoing surgery to repair a partially torn patellar tendon in his left knee.

Between January 1 and February 3 of the lockout-shortened 2011–12 season, Whiteside was on assignment with the Reno Bighorns. Between February 15 and April 11, he played in 18 games for the Kings, including having a 10-rebound effort on April 8 against the Houston Rockets. On July 16, 2012, he was waived by the Kings.

Sioux Falls Skyforce (2012–2013) On December 14, 2012, Whiteside was acquired by the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA Development League.

Rio Grande Valley Vipers (2013) On January 4, 2013, Whiteside was traded to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers in exchange for Damian Saunders.

Amchit Club (2013) Whiteside left the Vipers prior to the playoffs and joined Lebanese club Amchit Club in late April 2013.

Sichuan Blue Whales (2013) After three games for Amchit in early May, Whiteside left Lebanon and joined the Chinese NBL team Sichuan Blue Whales. In his first game with the Blue Whales, Whiteside recorded 28 points and 21 rebounds in an 85–69 win over Hebei Xianglian. In 27 games, he averaged 25.7 points, 16.6 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 5.1 blocks per game.

Al Mouttahed Tripoli (2013–2014) In November 2013, Whiteside moved to Lebanon after signing with Al Mouttahed Tripoli.

Jiangsu Tongxi (2014) In April 2014, Whiteside was released by Tripoli and returned to China. He joined Chinese NBL team Jiangsu Tongxi, where in 17 games, he averaged 29.6 points, 16.4 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 4.3 blocks per game.

Iowa Energy (2014) After spending Summer League with the Toronto Raptors and preseason with the Memphis Grizzlies, Whiteside joined the Grizzlies' D-League affiliate, the Iowa Energy, in November 2014. On November 19, he was called up by the Grizzlies to fill out their roster against Toronto due to multiple injuries. He was waived the next day and re-joined Iowa.

Miami Heat (2014–2019)

2014–15 season On November 24, 2014, Whiteside signed with the Miami Heat. On December 13, he was assigned to the Sioux Falls Skyforce, but was recalled two days later. On January 4, 2015, he recorded his first career double-double with 11 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocks in an 88–84 win over the Brooklyn Nets.

On January 11, 2015, Whiteside recorded a then career-high 23 points, 16 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks in a 104–90 win against the Los Angeles Clippers. On January 25, he recorded his first career triple-double with 14 points, 13 rebounds, and franchise record 12 blocks in a 96–84 win over the Chicago Bulls. In the process, Whiteside became just the fourth player in the previous 25 years with at least 12 points, 12 rebounds and 12 blocks in a game, and the first player since Manute Bol with 12 blocks off the bench in 25 minutes or less. Bol had 13 blocks in 23 minutes. On February 4, he scored a then career-high 24 points on 12-of-13 shooting along with 20 rebounds in a loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. His 90% field goal shooting and his 20/20 night made him one of only four players in NBA history to achieve such a feat.

On March 2, 2015, Whiteside got into a fight with Alex Len of the Phoenix Suns. The following day, the NBA fined Whiteside $15,000 for his role in the altercation. On March 10, he was suspended for one game without pay for striking Kelly Olynyk during the Heat's March 9 loss to the Boston Celtics. He went on to finish fourth in the NBA Most Improved Player Award voting. During his first season with the Heat, Whiteside averaged a double-double with 11.8 points and 10 rebounds per game.

2015–16 season On November 1, 2015, Whiteside scored a then career-high 25 points in a 109–89 win over the Houston Rockets. On November 17, he recorded his second career triple-double with 22 points, 14 rebounds and 10 blocks in a loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. He became the seventh player in NBA history with multiple points-rebounds-blocks triple-doubles. On November 23, in a game against the New York Knicks, Whiteside blocked five shots, giving him 63 through 13 games. The previous Heat record for blocks at this point of the season belonged to Alonzo Mourning, who had 50 to open the 1998–99 season. On December 9, he recorded three blocks against the Charlotte Hornets, thus opening the season with two or more blocks in all 20 games, trailing only Mark Eaton (24, 1988–89 with Utah) and Shaquille O'Neal (23, 1992–93 with Orlando) for longest streaks to start a season. His streak ended at 21 after he failed to record a block on December 13 against the Memphis Grizzlies.

On January 15, 2016, Whiteside recorded his third career triple-double with 19 points, 17 rebounds and 11 blocked shots in a 98–95 win over the Denver Nuggets. Between January 22 and February 2, he missed six games with a left hip injury. He returned to action on February 3, recording 10 points, nine rebounds and five blocks in 17 minutes off the bench in a 93–90 win over the Dallas Mavericks. Two days later, he recorded his third triple-double of the season and fourth of his career with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 10 blocked shots in 27 minutes off the bench in a 98–95 win over the Charlotte Hornets. On February 20, he recorded 25 points and 23 rebounds off the bench in a 114–94 win over the Washington Wizards, marking just the 11th time in NBA history that a player has had at least 20 points and 20 rebounds in a game off the bench. Whiteside also blocked two shots in that game, giving him 300 with the Heat in 94 games, which is the fastest a Heat player has reached the 300-block mark. Alonzo Mourning was the previous fastest as he needed 108 games to accomplish the feat. In the Heat's next game the following day against the Indiana Pacers, Whiteside grabbed his 1,000th career rebound in his 95th game, marking the fastest anyone has reached that milestone in Heat history, ahead of Alonzo Mourning (96), Kevin Willis (98) and Shaquille O'Neal (99). On March 1, he recorded a career-high 26 points and 14 rebounds in a 129–111 win over the Chicago Bulls. He topped that mark on March 28, scoring 27 points in a 110–99 win over the Brooklyn Nets.

The Heat finished the regular season as the third seed in the Eastern Conference with a 48–34 record. Whiteside finished as the league's leading shot-blocker in 2015–16, and he earned selection to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team. In the first round of the playoffs, the Heat faced the sixth-seeded Charlotte Hornets, and in a Game 1 win on April 17, Whiteside made his postseason debut with 21 points and 11 rebounds. The Heat went on to lose to the Toronto Raptors in the second round.

2016–17 season