J-Speaks: Heat Retire No. 1 Jersey of Perennial All-Star Chris Bosh

The Miami Heat made four consecutive trips to the NBA Finals from 2011-14, winning back-to-back NBA titles in 2012 and 2013 behind the dynamic, perennial All-Star trio of four-time Kia MVP LeBron James, three-time NBA champion Dwyane Wade and a player who sacrificed minutes and shot attempts, while also taking on constant scrutiny from the national press. That said player received the highest honor from the organization that he was a major part of turning into a champion again. 

During intermission of the Miami Heat’s (38-42) 104-99 loss to interstate and Southeast Division rival the Orlando Magic (41-40) on Mar. 26, the organization retired the No. 1 jersey of the 11-time All-Star and two-time NBA champion Chris Bosh. 

The 13-year veteran joined Hall of Famers, Alonzo Mourning and Shaquille O’Neal, and future Hall of Famer Tim Hardaway, Sr. as the only players in Heat history to have their jerseys retired.

During his speech to the 19,600 in attendance at the American Airlines Arena in Miami, FL, Bosh spoke of everything—from his health scare four years ago that ended his career on the hardwood prematurely; to his grandfather, who he called Daddy Jack, who told him that he was going to be someone very special one day. 

Bosh’s grandfather could not have been anymore correct as on this night he saw his grandson’s jersey immortalized to never be worn by another Heat player ever again. 

“My name, my family name up here, that’s something I used to get laughed at for dreaming of,” Bosh, who wore his championship rings on both hands said during his speech. “So never let anyone tell you that you can’t accomplish your dream. Those four letters on the back of that jersey are my wife’s (Adrienne) name, my kids’ (Dylan, Jackson, Lennox, and Phoenix) name, my father’s name (Frieda), my grandfather’s name. We’re not just carrying on for another generation. But now, Daddy Jack, we’re up there forever.” 

To put into context how special of a night this was for the Heat organization and their fans, head coach Erik Spoelstra made the decision that his squad, who was involved in a big game that has serious implications on whether they would make the playoffs, he, the coaching staff and the players would be out on the floor to see the ceremony. 

Wade, who will retire at the end of this season, his 16^th in “The Association” introduced Bosh and told stories from how he learned Spanish from Rosetta Stone CDs to how he self-taught himself to play the guitar—where he ended up having the chance to play with the legendary Buddy Guy. 

Along with presented a $50,000 gift for the Chris Bosh Foundation, established in 2004 the Heat presented Bosh also with a one-of-a-kind guitar designed by his friend Rey Jeffet, Jr. 

“The person who made the ‘Big 3’ era legendary,” Wade said. 

Coach Spoelstra tells stories every chance he gets about Bosh and one specific favorite of his was the night after the Heat’s Game 3 loss at the Indiana Pacers of the 2012 Eastern Conference Semifinals that had them down 2-1, he knocked on the coach’s hotel room suite at 2 a.m. with beers in hand. In that conversation that lasted nearly an hour, not a word was said about the game. The Heat won Game 4 and took the series. 

“If you want to understand our culture and what we’re about, there’s nothing better than a night like tonight,” Spoelstra said.  

It was also the celebration of a player that was celebrated for being different than a lot of star players in the NBA. 

Bosh was a very well-spoken person who can computer code; as mentioned play the guitar and brew his own beer. 

Along with his ability to take care of business individually on the floor, Bosh had an ability to connect and have an empathy to connect with his teammates who might be going through something whether it be on or off the hardwood. 

On top of that he had the ability to poke fun at himself like when he and his Heat teammates did a reembrace of the Harlem shake or when he videobombed James and Wade during postgame interviews with FOX Sports/Sun’s Jason Jackson. 

In his time with the Raptors, Bosh was so concerned that the Raptors were not on national television enough that it would hurt his chances of making the All-Star team that he decided to post on YouTube an advertisement to basketball fans to go online or by paper ballot to vote him to be an All-Star. 

He would go on as mentioned earlier to make 11 consecutive appearances in the unofficial NBA mid-season classic, which only 22 players in the history of the NBA can say they ever did that. Along with those All-Star Game appearances, Bosh would add an Olympic Gold medal to his resume to go along with those two titles. 

James, who was also on that team with Bosh during those Olympic games in Beijing in the summer of 2008 told host Rachel Nichols of ESPN’s “NBA: The Jump,” after the Los Angeles Lakers’ 124-116 win versus the Washington Wizards on TNT that while most of the players like Wade, Carmelo Anthony and Kobe Bryant would in their down time play cards or listen to music. Bosh used his off time by listening to a Rosetta Stone program to learn Spanish. 

So, it was not a shock that Bosh delivered a part of his speech in Spanish as gesture of respect to Miami’s Cuban community and Latin culture, which went over very well with those in attendance.

Bosh also acknowledged his greatest moment in a Heat uniform where he saved Miami’s place as defending champs with a key offensive rebound in the closing seconds of Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals on June 18, 2013 that led to the biggest assist of his career when he found Hall of Famer Ray Allen in the right corner for the game-tying three-pointer that sent the game into overtime where the Heat would prevail 103-100 and finish off the San Antonio Spurs in Game 7 95-88 two nights later to earn back-to-back titles. 

Bosh asked those in attendance at the American Airlines Arena of that moment, “You guys remember Game 6?” 

“You know how they brought all the rope around the arena. And hey, let’s be honest. We were seconds away from losing it, again on this home court but even throughout all that I knew we had a chance. Here’s the thing about me, I’ve always been a rebounder.”

When James, Wade and Bosh joined forces in as mentioned the summer of 2010, it was Bosh went from being the face of the franchise with the Raptors to the third wheel on the Heat. It was Bosh who had to had to change his game the most. He who had to hear critics take shots at his play on the floor to his sexuality where it was floated out there that he was gay. That weight of expectation and downright ridicule would have made even the best of basketball players want to crawl into a hole and hide. For Bosh he just kept on plugging away. 

Bosh took all of that head on. He did change his game from being a traditional front court player that posted up on the box to a stretch four/five big man who shots a heavy diet of perimeter shots, especially from three-point range. 

While James, who did not win a title in his career until he came to South Florida was the engine of those Heat teams at the beginning of this decade and Wade was the heartbeat, it was Bosh that was the barometer. When he played well, they won and when he did not, they lost, which can be a lot to bear again for most people but the Texas native managed to take on that weight. 

The biggest rebounding though that Bosh did not just as a basketball player but as a person was how he dealt with blood clots—first in his left lung in 2015 that cut his season short and then second time in his left leg after failing a medical test one a year later that ultimately ended his career and took away the game that he loved.

In the beginning it was a struggle, where there were days he did not want to get out of bed. He eventually did “rebound” thanks to the thousands of get-well cards from fans to his home as he was battling to get better and he read each and every one of them.

“Those letters pushed me to get back on this court,” Bosh said. “Those letters inspired me to get back up and walk across the room when I didn’t think I had the energy to do it.” 

While things are good now between Bosh and the Heat, the relationship for a time after Bosh was released from his contract that the relationship was strained because he wanted to play again. The organization did not feel the same way. 

The two sides eventually reached an understanding, opened the lines of communication and while Bosh did not return to the court as a player, he returned to the court and the organization where he had the most team success to balance his individual accomplishments and became just the fourth Heat player ever to have their jersey raised to the rafters with at the minimum three more Heat jersey retirements in the near future –Wade, James and Udonis Haslem when their careers conclude.

“I just want to welcome Chris Bosh forever and for always a lifer of the Miami Heat,” team president and Hall of Famer Pat Riley said during the ceremony. 

Christopher Wesson Bosh, born in Dallas TX had a 13-year NBA career where he was special both on the floor and off the floor. He was a multiple time All-Star, an Olympic Gold medal winner and great scorer and rebounder. He was also different that he was intelligent, curious, and caring who had an appreciation for his teammates and coaches. In his downtime he did things that bettered him as a person. He was also someone who looked tough times in the eye whether on the floor or off and won. 

On Tuesday, March 26, 2019, Bosh had his No. 1 jersey raised to the rafters of the American Airlines Arena with his family, happy, healthy, and concluded the ceremony doing what he often did during his time when he made a big play on the court for his walk-off. 

Bosh stepped away from the podium, opened up his suit jacket and screamed, “Come on! Come on! Come on! Come on!”   

Information, statistics, and quotations are courtesy of 3/26/19 www.nba.com story, “Heat Raise Chris Bosh’s No. 1 Jersey to Rafters,” by Tim Reynolds of “The Associated Press:” 3/27/19 3 p.m. edition of “NBA: The Jump” on ESPN, with Rachel Nichols, Brian Windhorst and Tracy McGrady; www.espn.com/nba/game?gameid=401071782; https://heightline.com/chris-bosh-wife-kids-gay-net/; https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/MIA/2013.html; and https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Bosh.