Chris Bosh on LeBron leaving the Heat: “In the beginning I was offended”

The name LeBron James means a lot to sport in general, and to basketball and the NBA in particular. The discussion about the scope it had for each would be endless and would never make everyone agree. But if there’s one thing that can’t be denied, it’s that James’s career management ushered in the era of player empowerment by diminishing the ownership control previously held by the franchises.

When he left the Heat in 2014 to return to the Cavaliers, LeBron left his teammates with a lot of uncertainty, teammates who wanted to stick together. Certainly there were resentments, even if no major clashes had ever been known between the members of that team.

Now it was Chris Bosh, teammate in the Heat and friend of James, who threw some lucidity on his feelings at the time.

“When I found out I thought he was joking, and about ten minutes later, the news was everywhere,” said the power forward, on the podcast. All the smoke by Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson. “Now I understand. But at the time I didn’t understand. At that point, in my mind, I was ready to put the team back together because we had just lost. So, we wanted to put something back together so we could win. And it couldn’t be like that.” .

“At first I was offended. Bron and I talked about it. But I’m a competitor, and when you go back to the locker room and don’t see LeBron in the chair, you realize how special he was as a player, “continued Bosh, talking about how he felt playing without his friend. It took a while to get over it. It took me months. Then we talked about it and we’re back on good terms. I’m glad I did. But it was hard to deal with. “

Certainly, Bosh is one of James’ closest friends today. So we can attest that the relationship could indeed return to the previous point, after the anger of the former Toronto and Miami.

After his teammate’s departure, Bosh had contractual problems with the franchise, which led him to follow James’ path. But in the end, the Heat gave the twist arm and offered one of their stars, an extension for five seasons. Unfortunately, he failed to fulfill his contract due to health problems and ended up announcing his retirement last year.

(Cover photo by Streeter Lecka / Getty Images)