The all-time great player for the Toronto Raptors has formally declared his retirement due to his wife, which is causing…
Former Raptors first-round pick Chris Bosh has been officially admitted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. In one of the evening’s best enshrinement speeches, the 37-year-old celebrated his time with the Miami Heat, which included two championships and four consecutive NBA Finals appearances, shared a moment with Heat team president Pat Riley, and spoke candidly about his life’s setbacks, including a blood clotting condition that forced him into early retirement.
Because his most memorable moments were with a team that signed Bosh and LeBron James in free agency to join Dwyane Wade in Miami in the summer of 2010 (remember The Decision? “Not one, not two, not three…?” The first seven seasons of Bosh’s career in Toronto, which happened more than a decade ago, have become a footnote.
As the first franchise player to emerge following Vince Carter’s departure, Bosh recorded his greatest individual stats of his career with the Raptors. In his final five seasons in Toronto, he averaged more than 22 points and eight rebounds per game, making the All-Star squad each year and was nominated to the All-NBA Second squad in 2007. Bosh continues to be the all-time franchise leader in various statistical categories, as well as the team’s leading rebounder.
Despite his contributions to the team, particularly during a time when exiting the purgatory of the post-Vince Carter era was a feat in and of itself, there has always been a lack of interest in Bosh’s role in the Toronto Raptors’ overall narrative. It’s an apathy that doesn’t extend to the other franchise mainstays, like as Damon Stoudamire, Kyle Lowry, and Carter—who is valued regardless of how fans feel about how things ended here.
The fundamental cause for this does not totally rest on Bosh’s shoulders. Even though he led Toronto back to the playoffs in 2007 after four years out, the team, which won 47 games and the Atlantic Division, lost to Carter’s New Jersey Nets in six games in the first round. The following season, Toronto went 41-41 and was eliminated by the Orlando Magic in five games in the first round. During Bosh’s seven seasons here, the Raptors only won once and failed to advance beyond the first round in two playoff trips.
