Chris Bosh said that he’s “lucky to be alive” after a recent health scare that resulted in him waking up “covered in my own blood.”
The Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer shared details of the event in a social media video over two minutes long on Wednesday.
“It was crazy. It was fast. It was instant. There was no warning. I didn’t have any time to prepare for it,” he said. “I was getting ready to go on a date with my wife and the next thing you know I was on the ground.”
Bosh, who retired from the NBA in February 2019 because of blood clot issues, declined to go into specifics in the video and when reached by ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. He said that he’s still recovering and won’t try to hide it, showing the lack of blood under his eyes.
Bosh explained that he has no recollection or memory of what happened and that “it was just darkness.” The scary moment led to him having a different outlook on life. Whether it’s wanting to go on vacation or starting a business, he emphasized not waiting to take action before it’s too late.
“No matter what it is, make sure you don’t wait. That’s the thing that I get from this. Don’t wait to take action because it could come fast. It could come quick. And I’m lucky to be alive, and I feel great about that,” he said. “And now I’m thinking about how I live my day-to-day life. That’s really it. But don’t wait.”
The former Miami Heat star first dealt with a blood clot in February 2015, when a clot formed in one of his legs and traveled to a lung, leading to a multiday hospitalization. He was released from the hospital and wound up playing 53 games in the 2015-16 season — the final campaign of his 13-year NBA career.
Bosh was diagnosed with a second blood clot in his leg in February 2016 and missed the remainder of the season. He revealed in “Rebuilt,” his documentary released that September, that Heat doctors told him his basketball career was “probably over” after the second diagnosis.
He intended to play in the 2016-17 season, but the Heat, where Bosh played for six seasons, failed him for a physical ahead of training camp. Miami officially waived him July 4, 2017, then retired his No. 1 jersey March 26, 2019.
Bosh won two championships with the Heat and averaged 19.2 points and 8.5 rebounds across his NBA career. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2021 and reflected on his early retirement during his speech.
“After finally making it to the mountaintop with so much more to do, in my mind, so much more work to do, it all stopped,” he said. “I eventually came to realize that we all have it in our power to make the most out of every day despite what happens, to turn setbacks into strengths.”
