It’s been almost nine years since Chris Bosh last stepped foot on an NBA court.
At the time, the former Toronto Raptors legend was still going strong, an efficient 31-year-old for the Miami Heat who averaged 19.1 points per game in 2015-16. The league had warmed up to Bosh’s style of play, a versatile big man with an outside shot, and it looked like the 6-foot-2 center might be around for a few more years.
But then everything came to an abrupt halt.
Bosh was diagnosed with a blood clotting problem and was forced to retire. It wasn’t until last week that he returned to the court for a farewell game for former Heat teammate Goran Dragic.
“[It feels] “different, but everything for Goran,” Bosh said. reporters in Ljubljana, Slovenia“I didn’t even want to play today, I wasn’t going to play because I hadn’t played in a long time, but I just wanted to be there with him, celebrate his career. Not everyone gets to do that, you don’t get a farewell game. You don’t even get a farewell sometimes. To be here supporting him was incredible.”
Bosh began his life as a father after his playing career and said he is now at peace with the way his career ended. At the time, the brutality of the situation was devastating for the two-time NBA champion, but over time, Bosh has begun to move on.
“It was very tough. To be honest, it was almost the end of my career. Any time you deal with a loss or a death, you go through grieving. And I had to do that for a few years, but I got through it. I think it made me stronger. It allowed me to focus more on being a father,” Bosh told reporters.
Bosh briefly tried to return to the NBA in 2018, but by 2019 he realized that wasn’t going to happen. Although he received offers to play in Europe, he said, Bosh ultimately decided he wanted to stay home with his family and not pursue a career overseas.
Miami retired Bosh’s jersey in 2019 after he spent six seasons with the organization. He left Toronto as the Raptors’ third-all-time leading scorer after seven seasons in Toronto.
