Former Raptors Legend Shares Emotions After Return to the Court

Former Toronto Raptors legend Chris Bosh said it felt different to play basketball for the first time since a blood clotting issue derailed his NBA career

Sep 11, 2021; Springfield, MA, USA; Class of 2021 inductee Chris Bosh speaks alongside presenters Ray Allen and Pat Riley during the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement at MassMutual Center. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports / David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

It's been almost nine years since Chris Bosh last set foot on an NBA court.

At the time, the former Toronto Raptors legend was still getting it done, an effective 31-year-old for the Miami Heat averaging 19.1 points per game in 2015-16. The league had moved toward Bosh's style of play, as a multi-skilled big man with an outside shot and it appeared as though the 6-foot-11 center could stick around for a few more years.

But then everything came to a sudden end.

Bosh was diagnosed with a blood clotting issue and was forced into retirement. It wasn't until last week that he returned to the court in a farewell game for his former Heat teammate Goran Dragic.

“[It feels] different, but anything for Goran," Bosh told reporters in Ljubljana, Slovenia. “I didn’t even want to play today, I wasn’t going to play because I haven’t played for so long, but I just wanted to be out there with him, celebrating his career. Everybody doesn’t get a chance to do this, you don’t get a farewell game. You don’t even get a farewell sometimes. To be here supporting him has been amazing."

Bosh has moved into his post-playing days as a father and said he's now at peace with how his career ended. At the time, the abruptness of it all was devastating for the two-time NBA champion, but as time has passed, Bosh has begun to move on.

"It was very tough. It was pretty much the death of my career, to be honest. Anytime you’re dealing with loss and death, you go through grief. And I had to do that for a few years, but I got over it. I believe it made me stronger. It made me focus on being more of a father," Bosh told reporters.

Bosh briefly tried to make an NBA return in 2018, but in 2019 he realized it wasn't going to happen. While he did receive offers to play in Europe, he said, Bosh ultimately decided he wanted to stay home with his family and not pursue a career abroad.

Miami retired Bosh's jersey in 2019 after he'd spent six seasons with the organization. He left Toronto as the Raptors' third all-time leading scorer after seven seasons in Toronto.