Bosh: 30 Years of Heat

5. Chris Bosh

Chris Bosh is a 6'10" power forward and center from Dallas, TX. Born on March 24th, 1984, he played at the prep level with Lincoln High in his hometown. He made the McDonald's All American squad as a senior in 2002, then played college ball with the Georgia Tech Yellowjackets. He declared himself eligible for the NBA draft after scoring 15.6 points with nine rebounds per game as a freshman.

The Toronto Raptors selected Bosh in the first round in 2003, with the fourth overall pick. When all was said and done, he sat atop the Raptors all time leaderboard with 10,275 points, 4,776 rebounds, and 600 blocks. He played 509 games over seven seasons, averaging 20.2 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game. He also made the all-star team in each of his last five seasons with the club. During the 2010 offseason, the Raptors traded him to the Heat for two draft picks (Norris Cole and Jonas Valanciunas).

In 2010-11, Bosh started in 77 games, shot 49.6% in 36.3 minutes per game, and scored 18.7 points (team third). He also pitched in with a team leading 8.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists, making his sixth consecutive all-star appearance. He finished the season with 28 double doubles, failing to score more than nine points on three occasions. On November 17th, as the Heat defeated the Phoenix Suns, 123-96, Bosh scored a season and game high 35 points on 12-of-17 shooting along with six rebounds and four dimes. On Christmas Day, he scored 24 points on the Lakers, along with 13 rebounds as the Heat defeated Los Angeles, 96-80. On March 14th, he dropped in a game high 30 with 12 rebounds against the San Antonio Spurs in a 110-80 Heat victory. On March 27th, he scored 31 points with 12 rebounds and three helpers in a 125-119 win over the Houston Rockets. The Heat posted a 55-22 record with Bosh on the floor. Miami earned the second seed in the East with a record of 58-24. He nearly duplicated his season averages in the playoffs, appearing in all 21 Miami games. He had his best game in a game three, 96-85 win over the Chicago Bulls, when he hit 13-of-18 shots from the field for 34 points, along with five rebounds. Miami eventually lost the Finals to the Dallas Mavericks.

2011-12 would see Bosh earn his seventh all-star invitation and appear in 57 games of the lockout-shortened season. He played 35.2 minutes per night, scoring 18 points (team third) on 48.7% shooting with 7.9 rebounds (team second) and 1.8 assists (team fifth). He finished in double digits 51 times with 11 double doubles, helping the Heat go 42-15 (they went 4-5 with him on the sideline). On January 5th, in a 116-109, triple overtime win against the Atlanta Hawks on January 5th, he sunk 33 with 14 rebounds and five assists. He scored a game and season high 35 points with seven boards on January 24th as Miami defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers, 92-85. On April 16th, as the Heat defeated the New Jersey Nets, 101-98, he scored 22 points with 15 rebounds. Miami again finished the season seeded second in the Eastern Conference. They then defeated the Knicks in five, the Indiana Pacers in six, the Boston Celtics in seven, and the Oklahoma City Thunder in five. He averaged 14 points with eight rebounds and one block per game through the postseason.

Bosh averaged 33.2 minutes per game in 74 contests in 2012-13. He scored 16.6 points (team third) on a career best 53.5% field goal percentage with 6.8 rebounds (team second), 1.7 helpers (team fifth) and a team leading 1.4 blocks per game. He scored 10 or more points 67 times with 15 double doubles. He also played in his eighth straight all-star game. In a 119-116 win against the Denver Nuggets on November 3rd, he scored 40 points for the first time while with the Heat, on 15-of-22 shots with seven rebounds (see below). He sunk 24 points on nine-of-14 shooting with a season high 18 rebounds on November 21st, as the Heat defeated the Milwaukee Bucks, 113-106. On February 12th, in a 117-104 win over the Portland TrailBlazers, he went 13-of-16 from the floor, with 11 rebounds. The team went 58-16 while Bosh was in the lineup (and 8-0 without him). On April 25th, in Miami's game three, 104-91 win over the Milwaukee Bucks, he finished with 16 points and 14 rebounds. Miami swept them in four. In the Heat's game three win over the Chicago Bulls, 104-94, Bosh scored 20 points with 19 rebounds, four assists and two blocks. Miami won the series in five. They then needed seven contests to eliminate the Pacers and later the San Antonio Spurs. Bosh averaged 12.1 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.6 blocks, 1.5 assists, and one steal per playoff game as Miami won their second NBA title in a row.

2013-14 would see Bosh rank second on the Heat with 79 games, all starts for Miami. He averaged a team-third 32.0 minutes, shot a team-fourth .516 from the field, and increased his three-point success rate to .339 by going 74-of-218 from outside. His 11th season output almost matched his first 10 seasons put together (87-for-302, .288). He also made his ninth all-star appearance in a row.

Predictably, Bosh ranked third on Miami with 16.2 points per game, second with 6.6 rebounds, second with 1.0 blocks, and fourth with 1.0 steals while pitching in with 1.1 dimes. He finished with six double-doubles for the season, finishing in double figures on 67 occasions and helping the Heat to a 53-26 record. On December 28th, he scored 37 points on 15-for-26 shooting with 10 rebounds and a pair of steals in a 108-107 road win over the Portland Trail Blazers. On December 23rd, in a 109-102 win against the Los Angeles Lakers, Bosh scored 31 points on a 15-for-22 performance to lead both teams. He also had six rebounds in 33 minutes of gametime. In his next game, a 113-101 win against the San Antonio Spurs three days later, he scored 24 points by going 9-for-10 overall, with five rebounds and three assists.

Bosh appeared in all 20 of Miami’s postseason games, helping the Heat to their fourth Finals appearance in his four seasons in Miami. He was at his best on May 30th, in Miami’s 117-92, series clinching game six win over the Indiana Pacers. He scored a team-high-tying 25 points on a 10-for-14 night, with eight boards and a pair of blocked shots.

In 2014-15, in a team newly devoid of “The King” Lebron James, Bosh played in 44 of Miami’s first 52 games, missing two weeks in December with a calf strain. He led the Heat with 35.4 minutes per game, placing just behind Dwyane Wade with 21.1 points per outing. He also pitched in a team-second 7.0 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.6 blocks. Bosh turned in seven double-doubles and led the Heat to a 19-25 record while playing (the Heat went 19-19 in Bosh’s absence). Bosh made his 10th straight all-star team.

On December 9th, just before his first injury, Bosh scored a game-high 34 points on 14-of-21 shooting, sinking four-of-six from outside and adding nine boards and four blocks in a 103-97 win against the Phoenix Suns. In a 104-90 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on January 11th, he led the way with 34 points on 13-for-20 shooting, with seven rebounds and two assists. Five days (and three games) later, in a 95-83 win against the Sacramento Kings, Bosh put up 30 points with seven rebounds, three helpers and three steals. During the all-star break, it was announced that Bosh was suffering from blood clots and would be forced to sit for the remainder of the season. The Heat finished at 38-44 and failed to qualify for the playoffs, but there was still hope for Bosh’s healthy return.

2015-16 would see Bosh make a triumphant return to the court, with his 11th consecutive all-star appearance. Expected to carry a greater load in Miami’s push for the postseason, he played in each of Miami’s first 53 games of the season, leading into the all-star break. On November 19th, in Miami’s 116-109 win against the Kings, he scored 23 points by shooting eight-for-12 from the floor, with 11 rebounds and four assists. In total, he increased his double-double count to 15, and finished in double figures in every appearance save four. He had his best night of the season on December 28th against the Brooklyn Nets, in a 111-105 loss. Bosh scored 24 points on seven-of-eight shooting, making all five of his deep shots and pitching in a dozen rebounds and three assists in 24 minutes.

In total, Bosh played 33.5 minutes per night over what would be his final NBA season, shooting .365 from outside and scoring 19.1 points with 7.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.6 blocks per game for the Heat. For the second consecutive season, he was sidelined after the all-star break with blood clots, and was unable afterward to secure clearance to play at the NBA level from any doctor. Miami officially released Bosh on July 4th, 2017, due to the illness having been ruled “career-ending,” so that his contract wouldn’t count against the Heat’s salary cap. Pat Riley soon after stated:

The number ‘1’ will never be worn by another player and we can’t wait to someday hang his jersey in the rafters.

Stat Line: 384 games, 34.2 minutes, .496 field goals, .344 three-pointers, .805 free throws, 18.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.9 steals, 0.9 blocks, 19.5 PER, 44.2 Win Shares.

Cumulative GameScore: 6153.8