Chris Bosh pens Players’ Tribune piece

Former Miami Heat player Chris Bosh, one of the most thoughtful figures in basketball, penned an essay in the Players’ Tribune discussing his career in the NBA and health scare with blood clots.

Because Bosh, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James all played together on the 2008 Olympic “Redeem Team,” many people think that the three hatched their plan to play together back then. Bosh said, “That’s not what happened at all.”

Bosh said that all four teams he met with made impressive pitches, “with the exception of one team, which I’ll leave you to guess.” (My guess is the New York Knicks.) In his retelling of the Miami Heat presentation, Pat Riley empties a bagful of championship rings onto a table and says, “This right here, this is what it’s about, guys.”

Bosh said as much on his own Twitter account during the free agency period.

The essay covers Bosh’s entire career — he talks about Toronto snow in October — and gets into the future Hall-of-Famer’s blood clot health scare. After taking an MRI, Bosh sees a doctor pointing to a computer screen and saying, “That is a bloot clot.” Bosh’s first thought was about how the Heat were trying to turn around its season with the Goran Dragic trade. A call with his wife, Adrienne, quickly changed his state of mind.

The two-time champion also says that the energy Heat fans gave him for the jersey retirement ceremony “goes straight to the top of my list.” He added, “Not only did you send me off right; you made sure I sent myself off right. I’ll always be grateful.”

Read the entire essay here.