NBA free agency: 30 greatest free agent signings in NBA history

Greatest free agency signings in NBA history: 11. Chris Bosh- Miami Heat, 2010

One word best describes Chris Bosh’s run with the Miami Heat: sacrifice.

Like the other All-Stars he teamed up with, Bosh sacrificed more money and more security for a chance to win a championship in Miami. He also sacrificed the possibility of being the focal point of the Toronto Raptors or any other team to become a tertiary option beside LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.

Ultimately, Bosh made the right decision; while his touches dropped a bit as the third wheel of the big three, he still put up All-Star numbers, averaging 17.3 points and 7.4 rebounds with a 19.4 PER and .168 WS/48 during the “Heatles” era, an era which saw the Heat reach the NBA Finals four straight years and win two titles.

When he was in Toronto, Bosh was basically paying a mortgage in the post, but since LeBron and Wade needed that space to drive to the rim and finish/draw fouls, he also needed to rent out some space behind the 3-point line to help space the floor.  When playing with ball-dominant wings like James and Wade, players have to find ways to contribute off-ball to take advantage of those two’s gravitational pull on offense, and Bosh did just that.

Once James left and Wade began to decline, Bosh seemed primed to step back into his lead dog role, but unfortunately, his health had other plans. Out of a possible 164 games in his final two seasons, Bosh only played in 97 of them due to recurring issues with blood clots, which forced him to end his career in 2017.