Former Heat star speaks openly about the end of his career
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Former Heat star speaks openly about the end of his career

Posted on by Edwin

When people talk about forgotten players, Chris Bosh is rarely mentioned. Perhaps it is too soon, as his last NBA game was less than a decade ago. But for one night at least, Bosh was allowed to return to the court.

Since former Miami Heat star Goran Dragic was hosting a special friendly match, the 40-year-old attended his friend’s farewell event.

Former Heat star Chris Bosh speaks openly about the “death” of his career

Bosh then spoke about his forced retirement, telling Mindaugus Bertys of BasketNews, “It was very tough. It was pretty much the end of my career, to be honest.”

“When you deal with loss, death and things like that, you always experience grief,” he adds. “And I had to go through that for a few years, but I got over it.”

“I think it has made me stronger and helped me focus more on my role as a father.”

Despite the bitter end, he looks back on his NBA time with joy. When asked what he regrets most about his career, Bosh says: “I don’t regret anything. Yes, I don’t regret anything.”

“Everything went well,” he continues. “A couple of championships. I met great people, great teammates, great stories, great dressing rooms. I’m a lucky guy.”

A Shakespeare story

Frankly, it seemed like Bosh wasn’t going to get what he deserved after signing with the Heat. The Dallas native was selected fourth overall by the Toronto Raptors in the famous 2003 NBA Draft and became a perennial All-Star in the North. A skilled face-up forward who played tenacious defense, Bosh averaged 22.8 points, 9.9 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game in his first five All-Star seasons.

At that time, no one knew that Bosh had bigger plans.

He left Toronto as the record holder in points, rebounds and blocks and made the infamous decision to join the Miami Heat along with LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. In his first four seasons with the team, Bosh won three championships, playing an important but misunderstood role. He didn’t score as many points as he once did due to James and Wade’s ball dominance. However, he was an athletic center who spread the court and opened up space for James and Wade.

Bosh averaged 17.3 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game during that time. While those aren’t mediocre numbers, they definitely don’t compare to his performance with the Raptors.

Luckily for Bosh, he was able to restore his reputation when Wade declined and James left. Unfortunately, his time back in the driver’s seat was short-lived. In June 2017, the big man’s blood clotting was deemed a career-ending illness, according to ESPN. He hadn’t played a game since February 2016 and failed a team fitness test in September.

In February 2015, Bosh was ruled out for the remainder of the season because of his blood clot problem. The then 30-year-old had recently been hospitalized after noticing “pain in his leg that later radiated to his rib,” according to CNN’s Jill Martin.

“The diagnosis: blood clots that had reached one of his lungs. If it hadn’t been treated, it could have been fatal.”

Ultimately, his end was predictable long before Bosh officially announced his retirement in February 2019. Nevertheless, his career is a tragic story that only Shakespeare could have imagined.

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