Chris Bosh

Christopher Wesson Bosh (born March 24, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player.

Bosh originally intended to complete his degree, but by the end of the 2002–03 season, Bosh was convinced that he was ready for the NBA due to his strong performances.

A Texas Mr. Basketball in high school, he played one season of college basketball for Georgia Tech before declaring for the 2003 NBA draft.

Bosh was selected fourth overall by the Toronto Raptors.

Bosh left Georgia Tech after his freshman season and entered the 2003 NBA draft.

Bosh said that in future interviews that although he misses his college days, he believes he made the right decision to pursue a professional basketball career.

In what is widely regarded as one of the strongest draft classes in NBA history, which included future All-Stars LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, and Dwyane Wade, Bosh was selected fourth overall by the Toronto Raptors in the 2003 NBA draft and was signed on July 8, 2003.

However, prior to his signing, other NBA teams made offers for Bosh as they knew Toronto needed a veteran scorer, and Raptors star Vince Carter himself pressed for a trade.

General Manager Glen Grunwald turned everyone down.

In his rookie season, Bosh was forced to play out of position as the Raptors' starting center after Antonio Davis was traded to the Chicago Bulls.

In the 2006–07 season, Bosh led the Raptors to their first playoff appearance in five years and their first-ever division title.

While at Toronto, Bosh became a five-time NBA All-Star, was named to the All-NBA Second Team once, played for the U.S. national team (with whom he won a gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics), and supplanted former fan favorite Vince Carter as the face and leader of the Raptors franchise.

He left Toronto in 2010 as the franchise's all-time leader in points, rebounds, blocks, and minutes played.

In 2010, after seven seasons with the Raptors, Bosh entered into a sign-and-trade deal whereby he was traded to the Miami Heat.

In Miami, he joined fellow stars Dwyane Wade and LeBron James; the trio became known as the Big Three.

Bosh spent the second half of his career with Miami, appearing in the NBA Finals each year from 2011 to 2014 and winning NBA titles in 2012 and 2013.

Bosh made the NBA All-Star team every year during his time in Miami.

Bosh's career was cut short by a blood clotting condition that the NBA ruled to be a career-ending illness.

He played his final NBA game on February 9, 2016.

Notwithstanding the NBA's ruling, Bosh fought to resume his playing career for three years before announcing his intention to in February 2019 that he intended to retire.

The same year, the Heat retired Bosh’s No. 1 jersey.

In 2021, Bosh was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Seeking to promote sports and education amongst youths in Dallas and Toronto, Bosh set up the Chris Bosh Foundation and regularly speaks to youths about the benefits of reading.

Born to Noel and Freida Bosh in Dallas, Texas, Bosh was raised in Hutchins, a suburb of the city.

A family-oriented person, Bosh would often play basketball in the house with his younger brother, Joel.

At the early age of four years old, Bosh started learning how to dribble a basketball in the gym where his father played pick-up games.

Since Bosh was always tall for his age, he was accustomed to out-rebounding his peers whenever he played.

However, Bosh only started learning the game of basketball seriously around fourth grade, doing so at a playground near his grandmother's house.

As a child, Bosh participated in karate and gymnastics.

He also played baseball up until high school, chiefly as a first baseman according to his preference.

Growing up, Bosh names his parents as the biggest influence on his personality and considers NBA superstar Kevin Garnett as his favorite athlete, after whom Bosh modeled his play.

Academically, Bosh always excelled in school as he was a member of the National Honor Society and several student engineering organizations.

Bosh began garnering significant attention from college recruiters after leading Lincoln High School in Dallas to the number one ranking in the country and to the USA Today National Championship with a perfect 40–0 season.

The 6-foot-11 teenager helped Lincoln High capture the Class 4A state title as he delivered 23 points and 17 rebounds to go along with nine blocks.

Bosh was subsequently named High School Player of the Year by Basketball America; Powerade Player of the Year in Texas; a first-team All-American by Parade, McDonald's, and EA Sports; a second-team all-American by USA Today and SLAM Magazine; a first-team all-state player; and "Mr. Basketball" in Texas by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches.

With his combination of grades and basketball skills, Bosh's name was on a number of college recruiting lists.

The University of Florida and University of Memphis among them made serious overtures, but it was Paul Hewitt, coach of Georgia Tech, who made the best impression.

Bosh felt that Hewitt had his best interests at heart and respected his aspiration to play professionally; moreover, Bosh was sufficiently impressed by what he saw of Georgia Tech's transition offense.

Bosh eventually chose to follow the footsteps of his cousin and aunt and attended Georgia Tech to study graphic design and computer imaging, and subsequently, management.

There, Bosh led the Yellow Jackets in averaging 15.6 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.2 blocks in 31 games, and led the Atlantic Coast Conference in field goal percentage (.560), joining Antawn Jamison as the only freshmen ever to do so.