After a 'rough year' that took basketball away from him, Chris Bosh has become the NBA's most interesting man off the court
He'll wake up, work out, help his wife around the house, practice guitar, hang out with his kids, go out to dinner, then call it a night by watching some TV.
Of course, this isn't what Bosh was planning to do in the middle of the NBA regular season at age 32.
Bosh's NBA career has been put on hold. Twice, Bosh had a season end prematurely when tests found blood clots in his legs, with one traveling up to his lungs during the 2014-15 season. At the start of training camp in 2016, with Bosh on blood thinners, the Miami Heat announced they were no longer working toward Bosh's return to the court.
Forced off the court, but still under contract with the Heat, Bosh has had to examine himself inside and out and determine what he wants to do with his newfound time.
"I have to be extremely creative, more creative than I've ever been in my life because that's such a tough question to ask," Bosh told Business Insider. "When money is not an object, what kind of picture do you want to paint? What do you want to create? Pretty tough question."
Recently, it's led to Bosh becoming more of a public figure again, this time on TNT's "Player's Only" NBA broadcasts, in which former players hold down the studio and call the games, combining both color commentary and play-by-play. Bosh was approached by Turner while at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January. Pitched to do five "Players Only" shows, Bosh accepted the offer.
"It wasn't a long-term commitment, which I'm not looking to commit to anything long-term right now, and they had what seemed to be a very cool offer," Bosh said. "So I went ahead and took it. It seemed like a great cast of guys."
Bosh has adjusted well so far, he says. He tries to mix in fair analysis and criticism, adding in solutions to problems, which he says some critics lack. He believes his experience as a basketball player helps his analysis. "I could talk basketball all day. I do talk basketball all day, so it's just a very smooth transition. They just flip the cameras on."
Music has become perhaps Bosh's biggest passion. He's taken up guitar, taking lessons, but also learning on his own, experimenting, based on the advice of some "great guitar players" he's talked to.
"You have to pick it up everyday and just figure it own on your own," Bosh said. "And that's like, one of the cool elements to music, is that's a huge component of it. You have to- it has to be a feeling, a thing that you hear."
Bosh, a fan of the blues, old country rock, and pure rock-and-roll, has been recording in his home on recording software, learning the ins and outs of making and developing music. Though he says he brings his guitar with him everywhere he goes (in January, he played on stage with blues legend Buddy Guy), he's mostly kept the passion to himself.
"I haven't found my band yet, no," Bosh says, laughing.
Bosh dabbles in other projects, too, though none as much as music. He's long been into craft beer and home brewing, once collaborating on a beer with Dogfish Head Brewery, but he says the arduous process has delayed that hobby a bit.
"It's like one of those things, if you make a mistake, it could be six weeks down the drain," said Bosh. "By myself, it takes a good solid seven hours just to get something that'll start fermenting. I will always be into it, but I need to find a better system."
Bosh then suggested a simpler route.
"Or just like, go to a brewery and hope they could put some stuff to the side for me."
He also plans to get into film, vaguely saying he has a few projects he's working on, without revealing further details.
Bosh's sunny disposition overcasts what he admits is an "unfortunate situation." Calling 2016 a "rough year," Bosh has learned to look for the good in being away from the game.
"I quickly learned how to just take everything in stride and just enjoy the moment that I'm at. Indeed, it was an unfortunate situation, but I know it could be much worse and I have a family to provide for and things of that nature, so it made me have to break down true perspective. In the world, in the things that I've done and the places that I've seen, I'm pretty lucky. I just use that as kind of a motivation to say 'Hey, things will be alright, I'm right where I need to be, and you know, it could be worse.'" He laughs again, concluding the thought.
Being away from the NBA has had its perks, too. He doesn't miss the aches and pains of the season and he's enjoyed being around his family more.
"That's one thing I realized is how much that I'm gone from my children and my wife and my home. You just realize how tedious the schedule is, and those flights and cold cities, Miami is a luxury, and hotels and it can, those walls close in on you. It's not easy. It's definitely a tough job."
It's unclear what happens next for Bosh, as far as basketball goes. As he said, he's not making any long-term commitments. Reports around the NBA have circulated saying the Heat will eventually buy Bosh out, making him a free agent. Whether another team will take a chance on him, given his health issues, is unclear.
Bosh remains excited about what the future holds, whether it involves basketball or not.
"I think that's, like, such an exciting thing. I felt like I was chosen to play basketball when I was younger," Bosh said.
"I've had to ask myself [what's next] over and over. And that's the things I think about as far as my legacy as a man and the things I accomplished, what I meant to my family. And that's like totally up in the air. It's kinda cool. So, just really focused on having fun and just expressing myself."