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Chris Bosh is an Olympic gold medalist, a two-time NBA champion and an eleven-time NBA All-Star. The 32-year old father of five is determined to return to the league following disappointment; in 2016 he was voted to play in the 2016 NBA All-Star game and slated to participate in the annual Three-Point Contest but was forced to withdraw from both events when physicians diagnosed him with blood clots, a potentially fatal recurring medical condition. The Miami Heat organization sat the 6’11 power forward/center out for the remainder of the season.
Now with the 2016 – 2017 season on the horizon, the former Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket looks to return to the hardwood. He’s undergone treatment for blood clots in the offseason and according to ESPN Senior Writer Brian Windhorst, he’s ready to return to South Beach for training camp. He expressed his optimism on his return to the Miami Heat this season in a podcast on the Uninterrupted digital media platform, “Absolutely (ready for training camp),” Bosh proclaimed enthusiastically on the podcast, “We’ve been talking about it for a long time. We released a statement in May that as soon as I’m ready to play, as soon as possible, I’ll play.”
Heat Owner Micky Arison seems confident in the ability of the aging superstar to give the franchise another season of production on the floor, tweeting “Looking good CB @chrisbosh look forward to seeing in camp.”
Should he return? Unfortunately for CB it may be too soon. Potential complications associated with blood clots are devastating and potentially fatal, they include heart attack, stroke, pulmonary embolism, kidney failure and deep vein thrombosis, a condition where a blood clot that forms in the vein of the arm or leg can travel to the heart, brain, lung or other organs in the body. (www.healthline.com) While he has received treatment he hasn’t been on the mend for that long; he’s thinking with his heart not his head. A comeback now may be a sensational story for the media to fasten into a storyline but it’s far from the soundest health decision. Best case scenario? Support your teammates from the sidelines and if all looks good after the All Star Break, return to the floor.