Heat raise Bosh’s No. 1 jersey to the rafters
The Miami Heat celebrate Chris Bosh by retiring his jersey. (2:00)
MIAMI — Chris Bosh couldn’t end his night — a night full of great memories, emotional tributes and colorful stories — without his scream, made famous during the Big 3 era.
So he unleashed a ferocious yell of ‘come on’ to Miami Heat fans, and they gave it right back and more.
On Tuesday, Bosh became the fourth Heat player to have his jersey lifted to the rafters of the American Airlines Arena. Essentially the entire arena stood to its feet as the jersey rose and several Heat greats spoke to honor Bosh.
“When I was down and out, when I was going through things, you guys taught me how to rebound,” Bosh said. “Thank you.”
All of the current Miami Heat players and several from past teams, like Alonzo Mourning, Shane Battier and Juwan Howard, were on the court to watch the ceremony.
Heat president Pat Riley spoke for the group saying: “He’s not just a superstar. He’s an incredible super human. I just want to welcome Chris Bosh, forever and always, a lifer of the Miami Heat.”
Dwyane Wade introduced Bosh as “one of the greatest players to ever live and “the piece and the person that made the Big 3 era legendary.” He also acknowledged Bosh as the “greatest videobomber in NBA history.”
Bosh went last, and of course he had plenty of jokes at Wade’s expense. He also was emotional at several points of the ceremony and spoke a part of his speech in Spanish to honor Miami’s large community, and that drew an extraordinary amount of cheers.
Bosh always knows how to entertain and he certainly played to his audience Tuesday night.
Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals will forever immortalize Bosh in Heat history, forever.
His offensive rebound of LeBron James‘ late-minute missed shot and pass to Ray Allen for the game-winning three in Game 6 of the NBA Finals was the defining play of the Heat second consecutive title.
Riley called it the “biggest rebound and assist in the history of the franchise.”
Bosh will also be remembered as one of the trailblazers for what has become the stretch-five position. His combination of size, athleticism, speed, playmaking ability, and later in his career, three-point shooting makes him a rare talent in NBA history.
The colorful personality, selflessness in one of the eras first super teams and dominance over the 13 NBA seasons he played speaks for itself.
“I’ll see you guys in Springfield,” Bosh said somewhat jokingly about the Hall of Fame. “It’s easy. I was pretty good, so I’ll make it pretty easy on the committee.”
Bosh’s bout with blood clots abruptly ended his NBA career and will inevitably be a part of his story. He spent multiple years plus talking to get doctors, lawyers and the Heat to continue his NBA career, and it didn’t work.
But Bosh revealed Tuesday that what kept him going was thousands of letters that Heat gave him from fans – a collection of well-wishes he often read on his worse days. He got emotional discussing what that meant to him.
“You guys inspired me to come back to the court. You guys gave me the motivation to walk across the room on my hardest days when I didn’t have the energy,” Bosh said. “Picking me up when I’m down, that’s what Miami is to me.”
Bosh has wondered ‘what if’ the blood clots never happened to him and he imagined getting a third ring if healthy and leaving the game on his own terms, but he looked to his family as a reason why he moved passed that.
He played his last game in February 2016 at 31 years old. He didn’t get a farewell tour like Wade, something he jokingly said he lamented Tuesday.
Yet Bosh stood at center court at the American Airlines Arena, just days after his 35th birthday, 100-percent at peace. There was no sorrow in his eyes — just a lot of appreciation for the love he got from Heat fans and players.
“People forget that when he was here the Big 3, he was the guy who sacrificed the most,” guard Goran Dragic said. “He was the franchise player in Toronto, who got all the attention and shots. Not many people are willing to sacrifice that for the team, and he did. That speaks to his character and his legacy. He ended his career as one of the greats and he won two championships, but I remember his selflessness too.”
Once Bosh was focused on how much he sacrificed, but he had a renewed thought on Tuesday.
“I only sacrificed the belief that you have to feed your ego and have certain numbers to quantify your success,” Bosh said. “That’s an important lesson in this digital age.”
Bosh finished fifth among all Heat players in scoring averaging 18 points per game. He played seven years in Toronto before leaving in free agency as then the Raptors leading all-time scorer.
But Tuesday was about Bosh’s legacy in Miami, and the memories that will last forever.
Videobombing is how many fans also remember Bosh. He began sneakingly creeping up behind players who were getting interviewed on TVs, and it began a viral wave that lasted throughout his career and many players have continued.
“I just wanted to think of creative ways to be silly and have fun man,” he said.
Chris Bosh’s video bombs were always a show 😂 pic.twitter.com/KNFMujRvXj
For Bosh, he says his production in crunch time and big games is the individual accomplishment he is the most proud of in his career.
One moment stood out for coach Erik Spoelstra: The Miami Heat lost Game 3 to the Indiana Pacers falling down 2-1 in the 2013 Eastern Conference Finals. Spoelstra said it felt like “things were clashing.” He was decompressing with his staff when Bosh knocked on his hotel suite at 2 a.m. in Indiana with beers in his hand.
“He was just there as a friend,” Spoelstra said. He was there for 45 minutes and we didn’t talk one ounce of basketball.”
Bosh said that was one of his favorite memories, too.
“What could be more normal than just two dudes having a couple of beers and watching some basketball.”
The Heat crowd, noticeably larger and louder than it has been for much of the season, erupted every time they saw Bosh on the jumbotron throughout the game. At one point late in the second quarter, Bosh stood up to acknowledge the love.
Despite a 104-99 loss to the Orlando Magic in a crucial matchup for playoff implications, many Heat fans went home with a smile because of Bosh.
One important figure in Bosh’s career — LeBron James — was missing because the Los Angeles Lakers had a game Tuesday night as well, but he sent a message via social media.
“I wish I could be there, man, to see that number one go into the rafters,” James said.
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥MONSTER!!!!!!!! One beautiful game and even better person!! Love that dude they call CB! 🙏🏾💯 https://t.co/o8QZ5TnhN0
Bosh left open the door to join the Heat organization in some capacity in the future if it worked for both sides, but he felt good closing the door on his play career. He’s dabbled in making music, and he was presented with a custom guitar as one of his gifts.
It was announced that March 26, 2019 will be known Chris Bosh Day in Miami-Dade County.
Bosh said Tuesday wasn’t closure, but it was special.
“Today I feel great. I’m happy. I’m healthy,” Bosh said. “I’m excited to explore life out of basketball.”