For basketball fans, few things are better than an extended interview between Bill Simmons and a prominent NBA figure. The Ringer’s leader has recently held fascinating conversations with Steve Kerr, Kevin Durant, and Jimmy Butler, among others. His latest great “get”: former Toronto Raptors and Miami Heat big man Chris Bosh.
Part One of the podcast appeared Thursday morning. Bosh reflected on his crazy, six-year run with the Miami Heat, which included four trips to the NBA Finals.
The first of those trips, in 2011, ended with a crushing loss to the Dallas Mavericks. The Heat were favored to win that series and jumped to a 2-1 lead, but they — and in particular their leader, LeBron James — melted down and lost in six games.
The Heat were devastated. Fans and media had villainized the Big Three, and now they had fallen short of their goal. One event that ensuing summer, though, helped them recover: Bosh’s wedding.
“I wasn’t too worried because everything happened so fast, I got married that summer, so I couldn’t be down too long,” Bosh told Simmons. “I think when we had our wedding, it was a great wedding and everybody came and that kind of got us back into a good feeling, you know, because everybody was there and it was a huge party, we tore Miami up. We had a great time, and that was our first time seeing each other since the Finals and everybody was just, the spirit was back a little bit.”
Bosh also reflected on the biggest play of his career. In the waning moments of Game Six of the 2013 NBA Finals, Bosh snagged a rebound and kicked it out to Ray Allen, who knocked down a three to tie the game — and essentially tie the series at 3-3.
“It was just one of those things, like, ‘This is mine.’ You know?” Bosh said of the rebound. “It was meant for me. It was like slow motion…I watched the replay of it, and it was way faster than what it looked like. I thought it was way slower, and somebody showed me. Because it was like, ‘How did you see Ray?’ And I said, ‘I don’t know, he was just right there. It just made sense.'”
At other points of the podcast, Bosh discussed how that 2011 Finals loss prepared Miami for its historic run, how the 2011 lockout was helpful, how the game has changed, and the details of the Heat’s 26-game win streak in 2013.
Expect the second part Friday. Listen to the full first episode below.
