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Chris Bosh Returns To Court In Goran Dragic’s Farewell Game

August 24th, 2024 at 10:44pm CST by Arthur Hill

Chris Bosh played competitive basketball today for the first time in eight years, making a brief appearance during Goran Dragic‘s retirement game to honor his former teammate. The Hall of Famer starred for Toronto and Miami during 13 NBA seasons before a blood clot issue brought his career to a premature end. After logging a couple of minutes in Saturday’s contest, Bosh spoke to Mindaugas Bertys of BasketNews about the medical condition that forced him to retire.

“It was very tough,” Bosh said. “It was the death of my career, to be honest. Any time dealing with loss and death and stuff like that, you go through grief. I had to do that for a few years. I got over it. I believe it made me stronger. It made me focus on being more of a father.”

Bosh and Dragic spent a season and a half as teammates with the Heat after Dragic was acquired at the 2015 trade deadline. Bosh won two championships in Miami and played in four NBA Finals after signing there along with LeBron James in the summer of 2010.

Bosh is an 11-time All-Star who averaged 19.2 points and 8.5 rebounds in 893 career games. He was elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021.

Although Bosh would have preferred to play longer, he told Bertys that he has positive memories about his NBA career.

“It all went good,” he said. “A couple of championships. Got to meet some great people, have some great teammates, great stories, great locker rooms. I’m a lucky guy.” 

Bosh revealed that he had an opportunity to play in Europe after the NBA refused to give him medical clearance, per Cesare Milanti of Eurohoops. However, he decided it was best to end his career and not take any health risks.

“I wasn’t in a position where I wanted to up and move my family. I had babies at the time,” Bosh said. “I took it as a sign and continued to move on. But I had a couple of offers. It wasn’t Greece. Spain, France. In the EuroLeague.”

Dragic’s team prevailed as he thrilled the Slovenian crowd with 21 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists, Milanti adds in a separate story. The star-studded contest featured Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, Luis Scola, Dirk Nowitzki, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Steve Nash.

There was also a one-on-one game between Dragic and his brother Zoran with their parents serving as referee and scorekeeper.

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Stars To Participate In Farewell Game For Goran Dragic

August 17th, 2024 at 7:42pm CST by Arthur Hill

A farewell game will take place August 24 to honor Goran Dragic, who announced his retirement at the end of December, according to BasketNews.

Titled “The Night of the Dragon,” the game will be played at Stozice Arena in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Two teams will be drafted during a charity gala dinner the night before. The game is sponsored by the Goran Dragic Foundation, and tickets sold out within 20 minutes.

Among the current and former players scheduled to participate are Steve Nash, Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic, Dirk Nowitzki, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Luis Scola, Dejan Bodiroga, Predrag Danilovic, Nikola Vucevic and Rasho Nesterovic. Chris Bosh, Dragic’s former teammate in Miami, will attend the event but won’t play.

BasketNews reports that Jimmy Butler was originally set to appear, but had to cancel due to a commitment in China.

Dragic, 38, appeared in 946 games with seven teams during his 15 NBA seasons. He was named Most Improved Player during the 2013/14 season and was selected to the All-Star Game in 2017/18.

He’s also a Slovenian basketball legend, leading the nation to its first EuroBasket title in 2017 while earning Most Valuable Player honors for the tournament.

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Eastern Notes: Heat Roster, Bosh, Simmons, Clifford

September 12th, 2021 at 1:52pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Now that the Heat have significantly reshaped their roster in the offseason, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel examines how willing Miami is to add a 15th player. Though Winderman allows that there are still players in free agency whose additions could improve the on-court product, he notes luxury tax worries could preclude the Heat from adding someone just yet. Winderman adds that a future trade could be the club’s route to making further roster tweaks changes instead.

The Heat’s most significant offseason change was undoubtedly the epic sign-and-trade agreement with 35-year-old veteran point guard Kyle Lowry. Miami also added versatile forward P.J. Tucker, fresh off a title run with the Bucks, and big man Markieff Morris, in addition to re-signing sharpshooter Duncan Robinson, reserve centers Dewayne Dedmon and Omer Yurtseven (though Yurtseven did not play a game with the Heat, he was on the roster at the end of the 2020/21 season), and guards Victor Oladipo, Max Strus and Gabe Vincent. Additionally, Miami inked All-NBA swingman Jimmy Butler to a lucrative maximum contract extension.

There’s more out of the East:

  • 2021 Hall of Fame inductee Chris Bosh could very well have wound up with the Bulls in 2010 free agency. Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel explores the Heat‘s backup plans had the club been unable to secure Bosh’s services. Winderman reveals that, at one point during the 2010 free agent hunt, Bosh relayed to an NBA executive that he would be joining Chicago. Had that transpired, Miami would have pivoted to adding some of the other All-Stars available that summer. “If, in fact, C.B. would have gone somewhere else, we had been recruiting Amar’e [Stoudemire] and we had recruited Joe Johnson,” Heat team president Pat Riley said of his next contingency moves. “It could have worked with Dwyane [Wade] and with LeBron [James], that that team would have been successful. But I don’t know if it would have been as successful as it was with Chris, because Chris was the ultimate complement.”
  • There is currently no end in sight for the Sixers‘ standoff with All-Star Ben Simmons. During a podcast conversation with Darren Wolfson of SKOR North, Brian Windhorst of ESPN indicated that he expects Simmons to remain away from the team through at least the start of the forthcoming 2021/22 NBA season.
  • Newly-added Nets coaching consultant Steve Clifford recently explained his anticipated role with the club, per Ernie Clark of the Bangor Daily News. “I’m here [in Brooklyn] a lot this month and through training camp, and I’ll be more of a resource,” Clifford said. “I’ll be watching a lot of film but most of the time I’ll still be living in Orlando. I’ll visit with the team once or twice a month and just take direction from [head coach] Steve Nash, whatever he wants me to do.” Clifford was previously a head coach with the Magic and Hornets across the past eight NBA seasons.
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And-Ones: Bosh, Mike James, Sharpe, Tough Contracts

September 11th, 2021 at 11:10am CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Former Raptors and Heat All-Star big man Chris Bosh had to retire earlier than anticipated at age 33, having not played since he was 31 due to a scary blood clot issue. The 6’11” center/power forward may have interest in eventually pursuing a coaching or NBA front office career, writes Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

“I don’t want to put any closure on it,” the 37-year-old Bosh said about a possible coaching gig. “Some sort of front-office or coaching position, I don’t want to throw dirt on it and say, ‘that’s it (and I won’t pursue it).'”

Bosh will be enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame this weekend as a player, after 11 All-Star appearances, one All-NBA Second Team honor, four Finals appearances and two titles. He holds career averages of 19.2 PPG, 8.5 RPG, and 2.0 APG.

There’s more from around the basketball world:

  • Recent Nets reserve point guard Mike James has left Russian basketball club CSKA Moscow, per Dario Skerletic of Sportando. James now re-enters the NBA free agency pool. The 6’1″ guard previously began the 2020/21 season with CSKA Moscow, averaging 19.3 PPG and 5.7 across 27 games of Euroleague play. The 31-year-old vet eventually latched on with the Nets, averaging 7.7 PPG and 4.1 APG across 13 regular season contests, before seeing his role diminished in the playoffs. James had been under contract with CSKA Moscow through 2023, but had managed to carve out time to join the Nets at the end of the 2020/21 season with the club’s blessing. Now, he is a wholly unrestricted free agent.
  • Top high school prospect Shaedon Sharpe, the No. 1-ranked overall prospect in the class of 2022, has committed to suiting up for coach John Calipari in Kentucky, per Jonathan Givony of ESPN. “Coach Cal took the time to understand who I was as a person and how to get the best out of me,” Sharpe said. “I can see that he does a great job of working with athletes of my position and playing style and getting them to be the best versions of themselves. His experience is a large part of why I chose UK, but he believed in the vision and goals that I had for myself as well.” The addition of Sharpe marks Calipari’s first top-five recruit since he added now-Heat star big man Bam Adebayo in 2016. During Calipari’s 12 seasons at Kentucky, he has seen 43 of his players selected in the NBA draft, including 21 in the lottery. Sharpe also reportedly considered joining the G League Ignite, Arizona, Kansas and Oklahoma State before making his decision.
  • Several players throughout the NBA remain inked to unwieldy contracts relative to their output or health. Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype assesses the toughest deals to flip in the league ahead of the 2021/22 season. Rockets point guard John Wall, owed $91.7MM over the next two years, tops Gozlan’s list for the second straight season. Gozlan speculates that the 31-year-old former All-Star could be headed for a buyout with Houston soon. 33-year-old Cavaliers forward/center Kevin Love, owed $60.2MM over the next two seasons as Cleveland’s fourth-best big man, and 31-year-old maximum-salaried Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson, who has missed the last two seasons with an ACL tear (in 2019/20) and an Achilles tear (in 2020/21), are two of the more predictable names on the list. A few 2021 free agency signings and extensions make the cut, including the contracts of Bulls small forward DeMar DeRozan and Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen.
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2021 Hall Of Fame Class Announced

May 16th, 2021 at 10:46am CST by Arthur Hill

As expected, Paul Pierce, Ben Wallace and Chris Webber will be part of the Class of 2021 for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

They will be joined by Chris Bosh, coaches Rick Adelman, Jay Wright and Bill Russell, and WNBA players Yolanda Griffith and Lauren Jackson.

Among former players, Bosh is the only name that hasn’t been reported already. He is best known as part of the Big Three in Miami that made four straight Finals appearances and won two NBA titles early last decade. He played 13 NBA seasons, with the first seven coming in Toronto before getting a chance to join LeBron James and Dwyane Wade with the Heat.

Bosh is an 11-time All-Star and was a second-team All-NBA selection in 2007. A medical condition ended his career early, and he was elected to the Hall in his first year of eligibility.

Adelman made two trips to the NBA Finals and is the ninth-winningest coach in league history with 1,042 career victories. He played seven seasons in the league, but made his greatest impact as a coach, guiding the Trail Blazers, Warriors, Kings, Rockets and Timberwolves.

Wright has been the head coach at Villanova since 2001 and has more than 600 career wins. He has led the Wildcats to three Final Fours and captured NCAA titles in 2016 and 2018.

Russell was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1975 for his legendary playing career, but he was also a pioneer as a coach. He took over as player-coach of the Celtics in 1966, becoming the first Black head coach in North American professional sports. Russell had a 341-290 coaching record and won a pair of NBA titles.

Griffith is a seven-time WNBA all-star and was captured the league’s MVP, Newcomer of the Year and Defensive Player awards in 1999. She was named Finals MVP in 2005 after leading the Sacramento Monarchs to their first WNBA championship.

Jackson was an Australian star who won three silver medals in the Olympics. She’s among the WNBA career leaders in games, minutes, field goals and three-pointers and helped the Seattle Storm win two titles, capturing Finals MVP honors in 2010.

Several other players were also voted into the Hall, Wojnarowski adds (Twitter links):

  • International Committee: Toni Kukoc.
  • Contributors: Val Ackerman, Cotton Fitzsimmons, Howard Garfinkel.
  • Veteran’s Committee: Bob Dandridge.
  • Women’s Veteran Committee: Pearl Moore.
  • Early African-American Pioneers: Clarence Jenkins.

Photo courtesy of USA Sports Images.

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Chris Bosh, Paul Pierce, Rick Adelman Among 2021 Hall Of Fame Finalists

March 9th, 2021 at 2:37pm CST by Luke Adams

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame has announced 14 finalists for the Class of 2021 election, according to a press release. These nine players and five coaches are the candidates to be named Hall-of-Famers when this year’s class is announced on May 16.

This year’s finalists are as follows:

Players:

Coaches:

Hardaway, Johnson, Wallace, Webber, and Andrews have been finalists in the past and are receiving consideration again this year. The other nine are first-time finalists, though Russell has – of course – already been inducted into the Hall of Fame as a player.

Among this year’s first-time finalists, Bosh, Pierce, and Adelman are a few of the most interesting names. Bosh earned 11 All-Star nods and won a pair of NBA championships before a blood-clotting issue cut his career short. Pierce made 10 All-Star teams and won a title (and a Finals MVP award) over the course of his 19 NBA seasons. Adelman, meanwhile, is the ninth-winningest coach in NBA history, with an all-time regular season record of 1,042-749 (.582).

Due to the coronavirus, 2020’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony couldn’t be held as planned last year and has been rescheduled for May 14-16. The Class of 2020 includes Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, and the late Kobe Bryant.

The ceremony for the Class of 2021 is scheduled to take place in September 2021, following May’s announcement of the inductees.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Heat Notes: Bosh, Simon, Leonard, Front Office

April 5th, 2020 at 3:23pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Chris Bosh will not be inducted into the Basketball Hall 0f Fame in 2020, but Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel believes Bosh will be elected in 2021. This year’s crop includes Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, and Tim Duncan, so it’s not as if there aren’t deserving candidates ahead of Bosh. Still, the former No. 4 overall pick, who won two titles with the Heat, had the résumé to be a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer.

Here’s more from Miami:

  • In a separate piece, Winderman wonders if any Heat executive besides VP of basketball operations Adam Simon will be coveted by Chicago as the Bulls make front office changes. As Winderman notes, Miami has given Simon promotions every time an opposing franchise attempted to pry him away from South Beach, so it’s unlikely that the organization won’t at least attempt to keep the executive in town.
  • Heat big man Meyers Leonard, who was nursing a severe ankle sprain heading into the NBA’s hiatus, said he would have likely been ready to return by the postseason if it had proceeded as scheduled, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald relays. Leonard is rehabbing in his home with the assistance of the Heat’s medical team.
  • Erik Spoelstra can’t envision himself coaching anywhere but with the Heat, as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald relays. “Micky and Pat created this culture,” Spoelstra said of owner Micky Arison and president Pat Riley. “Some people might think they need to venture out on their own to create their own image. I do not have any of those kind of feelings. I feel a sense of purpose by carrying this culture on and this legacy to future teams. It’s what I enjoy. It’s what fills my cup up. I want to keep this going as long as I can. It doesn’t feel like a job.”
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And-Ones: Giannis, Motiejunas, Nogueira, Bosh

February 20th, 2020 at 11:18am CST by Luke Adams

Following a wild 2019 offseason, the NBA has been in a period of relative stability for the last several months. However, there are a number of tipping points on tap for the 2020 postseason and offseason that could re-inject some chaos into the basketball landscape, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN.com.

According to Bontemps, people around the league will be keeping an especially close eye on teams like the Rockets and Sixers, who will be looking to make deep playoff runs after falling short of their goals in recent years. If those two teams are eliminated early in the postseason, it’s possible major changes could be made, with Mike D’Antoni and Brett Brown potentially on the way out and roster shakeups around the corner.

League insiders will also be curious to see whether the Warriors look to use their 2020 lottery pick as the centerpiece in a trade for another impact player, Bontemps writes. Most notably, all eyes will be on Milwaukee as Giannis Antetokounmpo decides whether to sign a super-max extension with the Bucks. For what it’s worth, Bontemps says every executive he spoke to expects Antetokounmpo to remain in Milwaukee.

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

  • Former NBA forward Donatas Motiejunas said he has drawn interest from some NBA and EuroLeague teams, per Lithuanian journalist Donatas Urbonas (Twitter link). However, Motiejunas remains under contract with the Shanghai Sharks during the Chinese Basketball Association’s coronovirus-related hiatus and isn’t looking to get out of that deal.
  • Lucas Nogueira, a former first-round pick who spent four seasons in the NBA with the Raptors, has signed with Muharraq Club in Bahrain, according to the team (Instagram link; hat tip to Sportando). The 16th overall pick in the 2013 draft, Nogueira appeared in 141 games for Toronto between 2014-18.
  • Chris Bosh took to Instagram to express his disappointment after not being included in 2020’s list of finalists for the Basketball Hall of Fame.
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And-Ones: Wiseman, Schwartz, Andrews, Hall Of Fame

December 20th, 2019 at 7:49pm CST by Dana Gauruder

It’s unlikely that James Wiseman will fall below the top five in the June draft, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony reports. The freshman center decided to leave Memphis on Thursday and sign with an agent to prepare for the draft.

Wiseman could have solidified his draft stock had he finished the college season on a high note after his 12-game NCAA suspension ended. However, he could have also slipped some if the Tigers had started losing games with Wiseman in the lineup. Givony continues. The lack of quality big men in a draft and the need of several lottery teams to add an impact big man could also help him, Givony adds.

We have more from around the basketball world:

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And-Ones: Nogueira, Draft, Reese, Bosh

March 25th, 2019 at 2:30pm CST by Luke Adams

Lucas Nogueira, who appeared in 141 games for the Raptors over the course of four NBA seasons from 2014-18, recently spoke to Gustavo Faldon of ESPN Brazil about his battles with depression and alcohol. Nogueira, who returned to Spain – where he began his professional career – last year when his contract with Toronto expired, said he has been sober for three months, but admitted that his drinking habits were a problem earlier in his career.

“I went out a lot,” Nogueira said. “In Spain, we had one game per week. You’re young, you have some money and no limits. You would eventually find the party. It’s Europe. I had no work ethic whatsoever. When I went to the U.S. I saw that a 15-year-old kid had more discipline than I did. It is a cultural thing.”

Having returned to his home country of Brazil, Nogueira is currently training in Sao Paulo in the hopes of staying in shape and eventually earning tryouts with NBA teams.

“If you asked me the same question four months ago, I’d say I didn’t know,” Nogueira said when asked about a potential NBA comeback. “Now I say I will be back. What makes me so confident is my training and my attitude. I’m ready for the challenge like I’ve never been.”

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

  • With all but 16 teams eliminated from 2019’s NCAA tournament, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz (Insider link) took a look at which players’ stocks increased or decreased over the last week. Besides obvious standouts like Zion Williamson and Ja Morant, the ESPN duo highlights impressive performances from Brandon Clarke (Gonzaga), Nassir Little (UNC), and Mfiondu Kabengele (FSU).
  • Former Canisius guard Isaiah Reese, who was suspended by the program in February for conduct detrimental to the team, informed the school that he’ll withdraw to seek representation and go pro (Twitter link). Reese tested the waters a year ago, but appears set to keep his name in the 2019 NBA draft class.
  • Chris Bosh will have his jersey retired this week with the Heat and is giving up on the idea of returning to the NBA as a player. He also has no plans to transition to a front office role in Miami – or for any other NBA team – anytime soon, as Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel details.
  • USA Basketball issued a press release today announcing the 12-man World Team roster for next month’s Nike Hoop Summit, which pits top high school prospects against one another. Josh Green and Nico Mannion, two of the top eight players on the ESPN100, headline the roster.
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