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NBA great Chris Bosh revealed a terrifying personal health incident where he said he woke up in a pool of his own blood after blacking out before a date night with his wife.
The 11-time All-Star posted a video on his Instagram account and said he continues to recover from a serious medical emergency that began with a numbing sensation going down his left leg.
Bosh has a history of blood clots, which ultimately led to him cutting his NBA career short.
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Chris Bosh poses before the Emirates NBA Cup championship game between the San Antonio Spurs and the New York Knicks at T-Mobile Arena on December 16, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Steve Marcus/Getty Images)
He eventually came to find his wife calling 911 as he noticed the blood he was covered in. Bosh said he tried to move his body but couldn’t.
While he didn’t reveal exactly what the medical diagnosis was, Bosh said this health scare gave him a new perspective on life.
“Coming back from the darkness, there was no euphoric clarity,” the Basketball Hall of Famer said in the video. “No montage of life flashing before my eyes. No voice in my ear telling me it’s going to be OK and what to do. Just the gratitude of still being alive and a newfound, sober awareness of how everything really is.
“What changed was an immediate view of life that was simpler and more honest.”
Chris Bosh arrives at the Emirates NBA Cup championship game between the San Antonio Spurs and the New York Knicks at T-Mobile Arena on December 16, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Steve Marcus/Getty Images)
In 2015, Bosh was hospitalized after suffering a pulmonary embolism, or blood clot in the lung. He had initially ignored the pain in his chest, thinking it was just a rib injury. Tests showed the opposite.
Then, in 2016, blood clots continued to form for Bosh, causing him to fail his physical with the Miami Heat, the team he spent six of his 13 years with. He officially retired from the league in 2017.
Now, after this health incident, Bosh said he is lucky to be alive and he looks forward to taking advantage of it going forward.
“The ordinary parts of life don’t feel meaningful until they’re taken away,” he said. “And by then it’s too late.”
NBA stars TJ Ford and Chris Bosh sit courtside during the college basketball game between the Texas Longhorns and the Rider Broncs on November 18, 2025 at the Moody Center in Austin, TX. (David Buono/Icon Sportswire)
Bosh broke into the league in 2003 as a 19-year-old with the Toronto Raptors, who selected him third overall out of Georgia Tech. He made five of his 11 All-Star teams with the Raptors, averaging 20.2 points and 9.4 rebounds per game during his time there.
But Bosh was known as part of the “Big Three” with the Heat, joining Dwyane Wade in South Beach before LeBron James also took his talents to Miami. Bosh helped the Heat to two NBA championships during his six seasons there.
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