Chris Bosh, a former 11-time All-Star, hasn’t played in the NBA since the 2015-16 season due to blood-clotting issues. Earlier this year, he had hopes of signing with a playoff-contending team for the 2018 postseason. To date, though, Bosh remains without a team and last played in an NBA game on Feb. 9, 2016 as a member of the Miami Heat.
ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan recently caught up with Bosh to discuss his life away from the game, the challenges of moving on from a regimented NBA life and his hopes for playing again in the league. In the interview, Bosh says he realizes the odds of an NBA return are stacked against him somewhat and how the league’s ruling that his blot-clotting issue was “career ending.”
Still, Bosh remains hopeful he can take one last run at being on an NBA roster in the future:
It has been almost a year since the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association ruled that Bosh’s clotting issues were career-ending, and it has been two years since he played professional basketball. Yet he continues to discuss the possibility of a return next season, provided he can find a willing partner to employ him. Bosh says “a few guys” have reached out to him about playing, but would not name them. Asked how he plans to prove to skeptical franchises that his health would not be at risk if he donned their uniform, Bosh answered, “That’s on them.”
Bosh’s medical records with the Heat are sealed; even though other NBA teams have not had access to them, many have already reached their conclusion.
ESPN contacted four general managers to gauge their interest in Bosh. All four said if Bosh was given a clean bill of health, there would be a clamor to sign him. But as one GM explains, “If he was healthy, he’d be playing for the Miami Heat right now. The fact they determined it was not an option makes me say we’re not going there.”
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Bosh, who turns 34 on March 24, says he trains regularly and still has plenty to offer an NBA team. His condition, he believes, should not hold him back.
“I’m going to give [playing] one more shot,” he says. “That’s all it is — a shot.
In an interview on ESPN’s “First Take” in late February, Bosh said he understands the concerns surrounding his condition and would not put himself in life-threatening danger.
“I’m not going to be in a position where I’m risking my life,” Bosh said in the February “First Take” interview. “So if I ever get back on the court like that and people are worried, it’s not going to be a life-risking situation.”
This isn’t the first time Bosh has cited a desire to return to the NBA. In November, Bosh said he planned to “keep [his] options open as a player moving forward.”
Bosh appeared in 44 games in 2014-15, his season ending at the All-Star break when the first known clot episode started. A year later, he played in 53 games and his season again ended at All-Star weekend, when another clot was found shortly after he landed in Toronto for the 2016 NBA All-Star Game.
Overall, he played 13 NBA seasons, seven with Toronto and six with the Miami Heat. He averaged 19.2 points and 8.5 rebounds in his career.
