CHRIS Bosh blasting Basketball Hall of Fame officials for his non-inclusion in the enshrinement of the game’s greats has a point.
Why exclude him, for Chrissakes?
In his prime, Bosh had been a pillar of the game, his stature solid as an Italian marble. OK, make that Romblon marble for patriotism’s sakes.
“I’m very disappointed,” he said.
I am, too.
Who isn’t?
Bosh is one of 13 players in NBA (National Basketball Association) history to average 19.2 points and 8.5 rebounds in a career that included at least 11 All-Star selections.
The other 12, according to AP (Associated Press), are all in the Hall of Fame now: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Karl Malone, Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley, Moses Malone, Hakeem Olajuwon, Larry Bird, Bot Pettit, Patrick Ewing, Elvin Hayes and Elgin Baylor.
“I just have to be honest with you guys,” Bosh said. “I’m very disappointed.”
So am I.
In the AP report, the former Miami and Toronto forward “released a video statement on social media Tuesday, using some version of the word disappoint—be it ‘disappointed,’ ‘disappointment’ or ‘disappointing’—no fewer than 15 times in five minutes.”
If the list of candidates would remain unchanged, the inductees could include only Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett and the just-departed Kobe Bryant by April 4, with the Basketball Hall of Fame ceremony set on Aug. 29 in Springfield, Massachusetts.
If Bosh would be left out, unfair to the max.
Bosh is the only Hall-eligible player with 17,189 points, 7,592 rebounds, 1,795 assists, and two NBA rings who is not yet in, or not a finalist this year, for the Hall of Fame. LeBron James and Dirk Nowitzki also have those numbers but they are not yet eligible because they are either still playing or retired too recently.
Bosh, 36, retired in 2016 only because of health issues that included two bouts with blood clots. He won two NBA crowns at Miami with James and Dwyane Wade in 2012 and 2013.
“...Hear this from me: I’m disappointed,” said Bosh. “Losing bothers me.”
The basketball world weeps with you.