Kevin Pelton, SUPERSONICS.COM | January 18, 2006
He was at best the third best player taken in his NBA Draft class. The defining moment of his team's season was a loss to Euroleague team Maccabi Tel Aviv during the preseason. He's never on national TV. There are plenty of reasons why Toronto Raptors forward
Chris Bosh is the NBA star casual fans have never heard of.
When Bosh entered the NBA after one year at Georgia Tech - where he led the ACC in field-goal percentage and blocks as a true freshman, finishing second in rebounding - he did so as part of one of the deepest drafts in NBA history. Highly-touted LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony, along with Darko Milicic, drew all the pre-draft attention, while the player taken directly after Bosh, guard Dwyane Wade, quickly developed into a superstar himself.
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Bosh has drawn comparisons to Kevin Garnett.
David Sherman/NBAE/Getty
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Bosh landed in Toronto, a beautiful fast-paced city that may as well be Siberia in the grand scheme of the NBA. To most fans,
Vince Carter embodied the Raptors before his trade to New Jersey in December 2004, and Toronto has fallen off the map since then. The Raptors won't play on TNT or ESPN the remainder of the season, meaning Bosh's only chance for national exposure would be his first-ever selection to the All-Star Game.
Because of his low profile, Bosh won't be voted to Houston as a starter. As of the NBA's last balloting update, Bosh ranked ninth amongst Eastern Conference forwards in the voting, despite the fact that he ranks third amongst this group in scoring (22.6 ppg) and fifth in rebounding (9.2 rpg).
On statistics alone, Bosh would be a slam-dunk to be picked by the East's coaches as an All-Star reserve, as John Hollinger recently explained for ESPN Insider. However, Hollinger also points out that coaches have never been shy about rewarding players on successful teams and snubbing those headed for the lottery. That's bad news for Bosh, whose Raptors are 13-25 and reside in the cellar of the Atlantic Division. That doesn't mean that what Bosh has done this season should be ignored.
With two of the last three Rookies of the Year having been selected directly out of high school, we've been desensitized to precocious accomplishment in the NBA, but that shouldn't take away from what Bosh is doing at age 21. During the leadup to the 2003 Draft, Bosh was frequently - and optimistically - compared to 2004-05 MVP Kevin Garnett. His performance thus far compares favorably to what Garnett did in his fourth season out of high school, 1998-99:
| Player |
MPG |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
FG% |
FTM/FGA |
PER |
| Bosh |
38.5 |
22.6 |
9.2 |
2.5 |
.511 |
.418 |
23.7 |
| Garnett |
37.9 |
20.8 |
10.4 |
4.2 |
.460 |
.161 |
22.4 |
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FTM/FGA is free throws made per field goal attempted. PER is John Hollinger's Player Efficiency Rating.
Basketball-Reference.com lists Garnett as the most similar player to Bosh as a rookie, third most similar last year.
Remarkably, Bosh has been able to post All-Star numbers despite the fact that the Raptors have been unable to find a strong starting center to put alongside him. While 2004 lottery pick Rafael Araujo has started 28 games this season, he averages less than 12 minutes per game. According to 82games.com, Bosh has played more than a quarter of his minutes at center this season. Another 43% of his minutes have come alongside Toronto's lottery pick last June, UConn's Charlie Villanueva, in a lineup where the two players are virtually interchangeable at forward and center.
What that means is Bosh is spending much of his time battling with centers despite his lanky 6-10, 230 frame. That's hampered Bosh's statistics. At power forward, he has averaged 24.1 points per 40 minutes on 51.5% shooting; that drops to 21.6 points and 48.9% shooting when he's forced to man the pivot (he has rebounded better at center).
It doesn't help Bosh's chances of gaining recognition league-wide that his best skill is getting to the free-throw line, hardly the stuff of SportsCenter highlights. Bosh is eighth in the NBA in free-throw attempts (310) and makes (249), hitting them at a strong 80.3% clip.
Why does Bosh get to the line so often? Sonics Coach Bob Hill thinks it's because he's so difficult to guard.
"I've always loved Chris Bosh," says Hill. "He's one of those guys that's such a tough cover because of his length, his speed, his skill level and his ability to shoot. Chris Bosh could become a great, great NBA player, I think.
"When he was at Georgia Tech, I would always try, if I could, to watch Georgia Tech play. He's special, I think. Now they're playing a lot better and I'm sure he's a big reason why."
Indeed, the Raptors have played much better basketball since a dismal 4-20 start to the season. Toronto is 9-5 since then, including a five-game winning streak a couple of weeks ago. Bosh has been outstanding in January, averaging 23.9 points on 58.5% shooting and scoring 20 or more points seven times in eight games.
Bosh still has work to do at the defensive end of the court, where he has allowed opposing power forwards to shoot an effective field-goal percentage of 55.7%. The NBA's elite power forwards, including Garnett and Tim Duncan, are standouts at both ends of the floor.
Still, at 21 Bosh has already put himself amongst the NBA's elite. His versatile offensive game allows him to average 20-plus points with seeming ease. Bosh is on the path to superstardom - whether fans know it or not.
