An 11-time All-Star, Chris Bosh was once one of the NBA's effective players and a key part of two Miami Heat championship teams. However, Bosh, unlike most, did not get to end his career on his own terms.
At one time, Bosh appeared he may be a pivotal piece of the Heat's rebuild when LeBron James left to return to Cleveland. But in 2015, a blood clot was discovered in his lungs, ending his season prematurely. The next year, despite starting well, his season — and ultimately his career — was derailed when another blood clot was found in his leg.
While Bosh believed he could continue and tried to return, the blood-clotting issues prevented him from being cleared by the Heat, who more than a year following his final game, released him. It took Bosh, who held out hope he would be able to return at some point, several years before he officially retired.
Chris Bosh opens up on forced retirement
Bosh has been honored a few times since then, notably when the Heat retired his No. 1 jersey just over a month after his retirement, but this weekend's Goran Dragic retirement game served as another reminder of the career Bosh could have had. Bosh played parts of two seasons with Dragic in Miami, and as part of the celebration of Dragic's career, Bosh participated in the game, his first in more than eight years.
While in Slovenia, Dragic's home country, for the game, Bosh spoke of his medical retirement and how he has dealt with it in the years since.
“It was very tough,” Bosh told BasketNews. “It was the death of my career, to be honest.
“Any time dealing with loss and death and stuff like that, you go through grief. I had to do that for a few years,” he said. “I got over it. I believe it made me stronger. It made me focus on being more of a father.”
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Bosh, whose offensive rebound and assist to Ray Allen's game-tying three-pointer in Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals will forever live on as one of the NBA's all-time greatest moments, thankfully said that he does not have regrets about his Hall of Fame career.
“I don't have any. Yeah, I don't have a regret,” Bosh said
“It all went good. A couple of championships. Got to meet some great people, have some great teammates, great stories, great locker rooms. I'm a lucky guy.”
In his career, Bosh won two NBA Championships, was named an All-NBA player once, and scored more than 17,000 points.
