The blood clot issue surfaced in 2015 for Chris Bosh, persisting and ultimately forcing an untimely end to his career. Revered as one of the NBA’s elite, his contribution to helping the Miami Heat win has always been admired by his fans and will continue to do so. Recently, amidst controversy sparked by Rich Paul’s remarks about the NBA legend, a Heat star fondly acknowledged Bosh as a game-changer in his life and referred to him as their wild card.

The torch has been passed to Heat player Bam Adebayo. Carrying the Heat culture within him, the 3× NBA All-Star now leads the team. While he creates his legacy, Bam is also following in the footsteps of his idols. As he continued to break new ground and set records, he acknowledged how Bosh changed and shaped his new motivation!

One of the crucial parts of the “Heatles” or Heat’s Big Three, Bosh had always put the team before himself. “Wildcard” is how Bam described the NBA legend. Bosh’s sacrifice, from being a superstar on the Toronto Raptors roster to taking on a different role for the Heat, didn’t go unnoticed by Bam who took his time to appreciate him.  

“The wild card for me was always Chris Bosh. What I know now is totally different than what I thought then. CB came to Miami and made a sacrifice… he committed to winning over individual stats,” Bosh told Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson. We see a striking similarity in how Bam always puts his team first while earning accolades along the way. 

Earlier, LeBron James‘ agent Rich Paul remarked that Bosh wasn’t part of the Big Three which included James and Dwyane Wade. “That wasn’t really a big three. He (Bosh) took a backseat, and he played a role in which because had such a high IQ and he was such a professional as an individual,” Paul said on The PatMcAfee Show. Bosh’s averages fell to 18.7 PPG and 8.3 RPG with Miami in 2010-11 after posting 24.0 and 10.8 for Raptors in 2000-10.

Regardless, in all his four seasons with the Heat, Bosh made it to the All-Star Game. He was crucial in the Heat’s victories, helping them win back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013. And Heat star Bam Adebayo isn’t the only one influenced by Bosh. The Heat’s oldest player shares the same opinion about his former teammate.

What does the former NBA player think about Chris Bosh? 

James and Wade were crucial to the team, but what about Bosh? Their former teammate Udonis Haslem, who was with them throughout that time, recalled that the Heat wouldn’t have won without Bosh. During an episode of The OGs podcast, the former NBA player recalled that while Wade had what James was to the team, the Miami Heat didn’t have anyone to replace the big man Bosh and his versatility.

“Everybody thinks our most important player was ‘Bron.’ Our most important player, not our best player, was CB….we didn’t have another CB. If that MF, went down and he got hurt, we didn’t have another one of those,” Haslem said.

During Bosh’s debut for the Heat, his net plus/minus of +9.9 was impressive. His best plus/minus was +10.2 in the 2013–14 season. Following James’ departure, Bosh had a chance to return to his original position,  however, his lengthy and serious issues with blood clots didn’t allow him to continue his game. 

Despite having played just 13 years in the NBA, he made an awe-inspiring contribution, as Bam highlighted, and it will remain unforgettable!