Former Miami Heat star Chris Bosh had his career shortened by blood clots, but even before the unfortunate events took place, he was part of one of the most dominant teams in NBA history.
Back in 2010, the Heat signed both Bosh and LeBron James to team up with mainstay Dwyane Wade. The trio spent four years together. They won two championships and never missed the NBA Finals during that span.
Bosh's stint with the Heat was a significant part of his career, and Pat Riley played a key role in making this happen. In his article for The Players' Tribune, Bosh gave a detailed explanation as to how he and his father were convinced by Riley to join Miami:
“I knew it right when I saw my dad’s reaction after Pat Riley walked in. My dad had flown out to Chicago to sit in on the meetings with me. And it’s funny — he really isn’t one of those types of dads, at all. But I think he just wanted to see about it, you know? Like, Just let me see this crazy process up close at least once. So anyway it’s the two Bosh boys, chilling.….. and then Pat walks in.”
“Pat comes in. Everyone’s quiet. We shake hands and sit down. With the other teams, the pitches all took a similar format: They’d show their PowerPoint, swipe through some photos on an iPad. You know, like: Here you are in a photoshopped Nets uniform. [Swipe.] Or, Here you are on a giant photoshopped poster in front of the United Center. [Swipe.] That whole deal.”
“With Pat, though, it’s not about any PowerPoint thing, or any iPad thing.”
Chris Bosh said the difference-maker in Riley's presentation were the championship rings he laid on the table during their meeting:
“Pat goes, “Alright, Chris — let me tell you something. I’ll make it simple.” He says the Heat have enough cap space to bring in me and LeBron, and also to keep Dwyane. Then he takes off his suit jacket, rolls up his sleeves, and empties something on the table.
HAHA! It’s a straight-up bagful of championship rings. Rolling around on the conference table, right in front of us. And then Pat looks at me, looks at my dad, and he says, “This right here…… this is what it’s about, guys.””
Riley had a successful career during the '70s and '80s, helping the Los Angeles Lakers to six championships, both as player and coach. He also helped the Heat win the 2006 championship. So when he put those championship rings on the table, Bosh knew that Miami was the place to go.
And he made the right choice.
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