By Cesare Milanti / info@eurohoops.net
LJUBLJANA, Slovenia – The Night of the Dragon was an event full of stars who came to Ljubljana to celebrate Goran Dragic’s legacy, which obviously included his time with the Miami Heat.
Despite sharing the court together only for a brief period of time due to his severe injury, Chris Bosh managed to create an unbreakable bond with the Slovenian playmaker. Therefore, his presence in Stozice Arena for one of the most anticipated friendly games ever was a certainty.
“[It feels] different, but anything for Goran [Dragic]”, the two-time NBA Champions first said to media in the mixed zone when asked about what he feels like coming back to the court eight and a half years later.
Chris Bosh and Goran Dragic are back together 🫂
The Miami Heat duo is reunited alongside Luka Doncic, Luis Scola, Dirk Nowitzki, and more superstars to celebrate the career of the Dragon in Ljubljana. pic.twitter.com/mTwEI6Xded
— Cesare Milanti (@cesaremilanti) August 24, 2024
“I didn’t even want to play today, I wasn’t going to play because I haven’t played for so long, but I just wanted to be out there with him, celebrating his career. Everybody doesn’t get a chance to do this, you don’t get a farewell game. You don’t even get a farewell sometimes. To be here supporting him is been amazing”, Chris Bosh immediately followed.
Commenting on his early retirement from basketball, he recalled difficult times. “It was very tough. It was pretty much the death of my career, to be honest. Anytime you’re dealing with loss and death, you go through grief. And I had to do that for a few years, but I got over it. I believe it made me stronger. It made me focus on being more of a father”, he also said.
Could Chris Bosh have been a EuroLeague player?
Chris Bosh went through a lot during his successful NBA career but never tasted a European atmosphere. Not even with the American national team, having played at the 2006 FIBA World Cup in Japan and in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
But today Ljubljana captured his heart. “That was beautiful. The crowd was great, the whole production was beautiful. Seeing the old generation, with sons, dad. It was beautiful. I almost cried I had to fight back some tears”, he commented on the night he witnessed.
Reflecting on potentially having an experience in the Old Continent, he revealed there could have been a possibility. “I actually had offers from Europe. But it was time. I wasn’t in a position where I wanted to up and move my family. I had babies at the time. I took it as a sign and continued to move on. But I had a couple of offers. It wasn’t Greece. Spain, France. In the EuroLeague”, he explained.
I asked Chris Bosh if he ever thought about playing in Europe:
“I actually had offers from Europe. But it was time. I wasn’t in a position where I wanted to up and move my family. I took it as a sign and moved on. Those offers? From France and Spain, in the EuroLeague”. pic.twitter.com/wxBWLCRT9x
— Cesare Milanti (@cesaremilanti) August 24, 2024
But tonight it was only about Goran Dragic, with whom he would have loved to spend more time. “We didn’t get to play long enough. We only played half a season together and knew each other for a year before I had to retire”, he said.
He then continued about the Dragon. “Goran is the best. A great professional, a great human being, a nice guy. You want to play with nice guys, but mean on the court: they call him the Dragon for a reason. He’s a friend, to share the locker room with him for a little bit was great”, Chris Bosh added.
The Night of the Dragon was also a good occasion to see other older friends. “I know most of the guys playing. I’ve been a teammate with Raso [Nesterovic], Primoz [Brezec], [Sasa] Pavlovic. I saw guys I hadn’t seen in a long time. And now you see the grey hair everywhere, everybody’s growing up and have big kids. Time does fly”, he mentioned.
The Olympics, today’s Chris Bosh, and Wemby
After so many years without Chris Bosh, is there a version of himself in today’s NBA? Well, when he was asked if he believes there’s somebody in today’s NBA who can be a Chris Bosh 2.0, he kept it clear. “I don’t”, he first said. “I try to look for myself in other players, but I think it’s a different game”, he added.
“There were two different versions of me: the Toronto version and the Miami version. I was a little more aggressive in Toronto and in my early Miami years. People know me more now for shooting and picking and popping, but I was more aggressive and going to the rim. I wouldn’t say I know anybody that plays like me right now”, the former Raptors and Heat big men analyzed.
However, there are some players who can now be called Olympic champions like him. But Chris Bosh was thinking “They better pull it out” when watching the Semi-Finals between Team USA and Serbia. “But that just shows the game is getting more competitive. The world wants to be that team that knocks off the USA, and it should be like that. But most importantly the fans got to see a good show”, he said.
“It was a great game, and even with the USA winning, you see how hard it was by how happy they were after the game. It’s great for the fans, for the game of basketball internationally. And it’s only gonna be more competitive”, Chris Bosh continued on the constant growth of the game.
Among the new generation of dominating players, there’s an alien who landed in San Antonio from France. “I’ve been watching [Victor] Wembanyama for two years, I keep up with the game and people have been telling about him when he was 16-17 years old. He’s skilled, he’s length obviously. And what he might be able to do in the future, he’s one of those once-in-a-generation talents. Let’s see what he does with it”, Chris Bosh finally said in Ljubljana about Wemby.
PHOTO CREDIT: Goran Dragić Foundation