NBA Rumors: Chris Bosh Hints At Making Retirement Official, Says ‘That Part Of My Life Is Over’
Chris Bosh was only 31-years-old when he played his last game in the NBA, shortly before the 2016 All-Star break. Due to blood clotting issues, Bosh was not cleared by the Miami Heat for the coming season and was ultimately waived by the team in July 2017, as confirmed on the NBA website. While multiple reports had suggested that the 11-time All-Star forward wasn’t ruling out the possibility of a comeback, it now appears that Bosh is ready to make his retirement as an active player official, as he suggested in a recent interview.
On Monday’s episode of the Bill Simmons Podcast, Bosh and Simmons mostly discussed the so-called “player empowerment era” in the NBA, as well as the recent saga surrounding New Orleans Pelicans big man Anthony Davis and his request to be traded. In addition to those topics, Bosh also commented on the rumors that he had been hoping to make an NBA comeback after multiple seasons away from the game, telling Simmons that he’s read the reports, but is now ready to close the book on his playing career.
“That part of my life is over,” said Bosh, as quoted by USA Today’s Hoops Hype.
“That has been a tough thing to deal with but I’m good, which has taken a long time [for me to accept] … I could have kept playing. But man, that time has passed. I’ve made the decision not to pursue it anymore.”
Although Chris Bosh now plans to officially retire from the NBA on March 26, when the Miami Heat retire his No. 1 jersey, he also admitted to Simmons that he tried “pretty adamantly” to make a comeback after he saw how the NBA landscape became more favorable toward big men who could shoot from long range. He added that he wouldn’t have minded making a return for less pay, or doing so while playing a smaller role.
As noted by SBNation, Bosh’s medical issues dated back to the 2014-15 season, when he played in just 44 out of 82 games due to a blood clot in his lungs. In 2015-16, his final season in the league, he saw action in 53 games before he was found to have another blood clot in his leg. At this point in his life, however, the 34-year-old Bosh said that his health issues are now “much more controlled” than they were in the past, per Hoops Hype.
Going forward, it appears that Bosh, who has career averages of 19.2 points, 8.5 rebounds, and two assists per game in over 13 seasons, per Basketball-Reference, is now open to broadcasting work, as well as a possible front-office job. This is in line with comments he made in a 2017 interview with the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, where he added that he isn’t too keen on transitioning to coaching.
