On February 9, 2016, Goran Dragic was on the floor with Chris Bosh for a home game against the Spurs. Little did they know, the center was playing the final game of his NBA career that night. A blood clot in his left calf would force him to retire early, at just 31 years old.
“It was really hard. It was the death of my career. Anytime you have to deal with loss or death, there's a period of mourning. I had to deal with that for a few years.”, clearly states Chris Bosh at Goran Dragic's jubilee. “I got over that and I think it made me stronger. It made me more of a father to my children.”
But leaving the courts without wanting to, due to an injury and at not even 32 years old, doesn't that necessarily mean you have regrets? “I have none. No regrets, no. Everything went well. I won two titles, met great people, had great teammates. I'm lucky.”he replies.
The presence of Rasho Nesterovic changed everything
The two-time NBA champion with the Heat even confided that he had received offers from Euroleague teams at the time. So it took more than eight years before he was seen again in uniform on a court. He played again to please his former teammate.
“It was different”he admits on this return. “But I will do anything for Goran. I didn’t even want to play, I wasn’t going to play because it had been so long. I just wanted to be there for him, to pay tribute to his career. Not everyone gets the chance to do that, to have a jubilee. To be here to support him was incredible.”
He adds, regarding this match played in Slovenia, that “It was beautiful. The audience was great. I almost cried, I had to hold back my tears”.
But when he had no intention of playing again, why did he change his mind? “As soon as I saw Rasho Nesterovic here, I thought I could play a little bit”says the former Raptors player. “Rasho is great. We're old now, but our Toronto years came back to me. I wanted to get back on the field so I said okay, let's have a little fun.”
| Chris Bosh | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | LF | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2003-04 | TOR | 75 | 34 | 45.9 | 35.7 | 70.1 | 2.6 | 4.9 | 7.4 | 1.0 | 2.9 | 0.8 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 11.5 |
| 2004-05 | TOR | 81 | 37 | 47.1 | 30.0 | 76.0 | 2.4 | 6.5 | 8.9 | 1.9 | 2.8 | 0.9 | 2.3 | 1.4 | 16.8 |
| 2005-06 | TOR | 70 | 39 | 50.5 | 0.0 | 81.6 | 2.9 | 6.3 | 9.2 | 2.6 | 3.0 | 0.7 | 2.2 | 1.1 | 22.5 |
| 2006-07 | TOR | 69 | 39 | 49.6 | 34.3 | 78.5 | 2.7 | 8.0 | 10.7 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 0.6 | 2.6 | 1.3 | 22.6 |
| 2007-08 | TOR | 67 | 36 | 49.4 | 40.0 | 84.4 | 2.6 | 6.1 | 8.7 | 2.6 | 2.3 | 0.9 | 2.3 | 1.0 | 22.3 |
| 2008-09 | TOR | 77 | 38 | 48.7 | 24.5 | 81.7 | 2.8 | 7.2 | 10.0 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 0.9 | 2.3 | 1.0 | 22.7 |
| 2009-10 | TOR | 70 | 36 | 51.8 | 36.4 | 79.7 | 2.9 | 7.9 | 10.8 | 2.4 | 2.4 | 0.6 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 24.0 |
| 2010-11 | MIA | 77 | 36 | 49.6 | 24.0 | 81.5 | 1.8 | 6.5 | 8.3 | 1.9 | 2.2 | 0.8 | 1.8 | 0.6 | 18.7 |
| 2011-12 | MIA | 57 | 35 | 48.7 | 28.6 | 82.1 | 1.7 | 6.3 | 7.9 | 1.8 | 2.3 | 0.9 | 2.1 | 0.8 | 18.0 |
| 2012-13 | MIA | 74 | 33 | 53.5 | 28.4 | 79.8 | 1.8 | 5.0 | 6.8 | 1.7 | 2.3 | 0.9 | 1.7 | 1.4 | 16.7 |
| 2013-14 | MIA | 79 | 32 | 51.6 | 33.9 | 82.0 | 1.2 | 5.4 | 6.6 | 1.1 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 16.2 |
| 2014-15 | MIA | 44 | 35 | 46.0 | 37.5 | 77.2 | 1.1 | 6.0 | 7.1 | 2.2 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 2.2 | 0.6 | 21.1 |
| 2015-16 | MIA | 53 | 34 | 46.7 | 36.5 | 79.5 | 0.9 | 6.5 | 7.4 | 2.4 | 1.9 | 0.7 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 19.1 |
| Total | 893 | 36 | 49.4 | 33.5 | 79.9 | 2.2 | 6.3 | 8.5 | 2.0 | 2.4 | 0.8 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 19.3 | |
How to read the stats? GM = Games Played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots Made / Shots Attempted; 3pts = 3-pointers / 3-pointers Attempted; LF = Free Throws Made / Free Throws Attempted; Off = Offensive Rebound; Def = Defensive Rebound; Tot = Total Rebounds; Pd = Assists; Fte: Personal Fouls; Int = Steals; Bp = Loose Balls; Ct: Blocks; Pts = Points.
