Over the past weekend, a Farewell match for recently retired Goran Dragic took place in his hometown of Slovenia. Dragic, nicknamed “The Dragon,” had a stellar NBA career, during which he was one of the best point guards in Miami Heat history. His energy, competitiveness and ability to create for himself and others helped the Heat achieve All-Star caliber production during his tenure.
Chris Bosh made a brief appearance on the court during the outing, scoring his first points since 2016 in a basketball game from the free throw line. Bosh, another Heat legend, suffered a heartbreaking illness that ended his career during that 2015-16 season. He spoke to European Basket News about his time grieving after his forced retirement:
“Anytime you deal with loss, death, things like that, you go through a grieving process… I got through it. I think it made me stronger. It made me more focused on being a father. I won some championships. I met some great people, I had great teammates, great stories, great locker rooms. I’m a lucky guy.”
– Chris Bosh
Unfortunately, Bosh never got a proper sendoff until he suffered a blood clot. His first experience with the disease came during the 2014-15 season, and he made a comeback the following year. But once again, the disease returned, sidelining him for the entire second half and playoffs of the 2015-16 season.
Like the warrior he is, a third comeback attempt was in the works for the 2016-17 season, but doctors wouldn’t clear him for training camp. Bosh also spoke to Basket News about not getting that well-deserved sendoff to his career:
“I didn’t plan on playing (today) because I hadn’t played in a long time, but I just wanted to be there with him (Dragic) to celebrate his career. Not everyone gets the chance to do that, sometimes you don’t even get to say goodbye.”
– Chris Bosh
Bosh was an 11-time NBA All-Star and achieved All-Star status in each of his six years in South Beach. He won back-to-back championships with the franchise in 2012 and 2013, including the legendary season-saving rebound that led to Ray Allen’s game-tying three-pointer.
In his final NBA campaign in 2016, he averaged 19.1 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists on 46.4 percent shooting in 53 games. Had he not been eliminated that year, Miami would have been well positioned to go deeper in the playoffs than they already have without him as the third seed in the Eastern Conference. He rounded out a balanced starting five that included Dragic, Dwyane Wade, Luol Deng and Hassan Whiteside.
Bosh’s sacrifice after joining the Big 3 with Wade and LeBron James isn’t talked about enough.
His No. 1 jersey will forever remain in the Heat stands for the Hall of Famer. But his sudden retirement has proven more than ever that nothing should be taken for granted in sports.
