NBA great says he nearly ‘dropped dead’ due to blood clot as he offers advice to Victor Wembanyama

Chris Bosh wants to spread awareness of blood clots after he nearly “dropped dead” earlier this year.

Back in February, Bosh, who was forced to retire because of his history of blood clots, said that he woke up “covered” in his own blood. He recently revealed that he suffered from a pulmonary embolism.

A pulmonary embolism normally occurs when a blood clot breaks loose and travels to the lungs.

“I almost dropped dead pretty much and came back to life. I’m not joking,” Bosh told Hoops Hype.

“I was in the hospital for a week. But, take your medicine. So, I’m taking my medicine every day, taking care of myself every day, and watching it. So, I mean, no symptoms came either, you know, so. Yeah, you got to deal with it for the rest of your life. I thought I was past it. I am not. So, you know, it’s just making sure I stay on top of my regimen.”

Bosh also offered advice to Victor Wembanyama, who suffered a blood clot that ended his second NBA season in 2024-25.

“Take your medicine,” Bosh said. “Make sure that he’s staying on top of his regimen to make sure that doesn’t happen again because it only takes one more time. It happened one more time for me, it happened twice, and I couldn’t play anymore. So I guess with him, just making sure he does everything necessary to keep that blood as thin as possible and take care of that body off the court.”

Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a condition in which blood clots form in one or more of the deep veins in the body, according to the Mayo Clinic. The condition typically affects the legs and can cause swelling and pain.

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In 2015, Bosh was hospitalized after developing a blood clot in his lung. He had initially ignored the pain in his chest, believing it was just a rib injury. Tests proved otherwise.

Then, in 2016, blood clots continued to form for Bosh, which caused him to fail his physicals with the Miami Heat, with whom he spent six of his 13 NBA seasons. He eventually retired officially from the league in 2017.

Damian Lillard also suffered a blood clot in his right calf last year and missed roughly a month before tearing his left Achilles tendon in the playoffs. He did, however, take part in, and win, the 3-point contest after re-signing with the Portland Trail Blazers.

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Wembanyama recently signed a five-year, $252 million, maximum rookie contract extension with the San Antonio Spurs after the Spurs lost the NBA Finals to the New York Knicks.

Fox News’ Scott Thompson contributed to this report.

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