The NBA legend Chris Bosh recently spoke to HoopsHype during a USA Basketball charity 3×3 event, where he addressed several topics like his own health and his opinions on LeBron James’ free agency move to the 76ers.
Bosh had previously joked that he felt LeBron James wanted to keep the trend of superteams alive, but this time he directly addressed the ring-chasing allegations against LeBron James.
“I’m surprised, but I’m not surprised. That was just my best pick. Because I was like, if I’m going to do something, I’m going to Miami if it was me,” said Chris Bosh on his reaction to LeBron James choosing the 76ers over the Heat.
“Philly was a pretty good choice too. A lot of people call it ring chasing. Everybody chases rings. If you didn’t think Kobe and Jordan were ring chasers too, you’re crazy. Everybody wants a ring. I’ll chase a ring right now,” he added.
What I think Chris Bosh wanted to say here was that Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant were always pushing their front office to make the best moves for the team as well. And none of their teams fought back in terms of the front office telling them that their input is not welcome, which may have happened more often with LeBron James.
Jordan and Bryant stayed with one team for most of their careers (if you exclude Jordan’s stint with the Wizards). So their loyalty earned them the front office’s unequivocal support.
Just because they didn’t move around the league themselves to form superteams doesn’t mean they didn’t want to do everything necessary to chase a ring at the late stages of their careers when they were no longer in their prime.
Moreover, Chris Bosh seemed to feel that James did not need to justify choosing to go to Philadelphia on paper, since they had the most talent. But now, the Heat and Raptors legend thinks a different set of problems will present themselves in front of James and the 76ers.
“I mean, they have a good team. They have championship aspirations. You look on paper, they look pretty good, you know? So, I think for them, the most important thing is figuring out how they’re going to play, how they’re going to play together, their defensive schemes and offensive schemes.”Â
“But most importantly, the five that are out there on the court and then the team, how are they going to come together? How are they going to share the ball? How are they going to be solid as a unit moving forward?”
“That’s going to be the hard part. And health, like any other team. Being healthy, fighting through the ups and downs, that’s what it’s about,” Bosh concluded.
It is safe to say that if Bosh were a betting man, he’d bet his money on LeBron James and the 76ers to figure it out. But it remains to be seen if they actually can do it.
