Miami Heat Waive Chris Bosh, Retire Jersey

MIAMI, FL — Chris Bosh, the last of the legendary Big 3, who led the Miami Heat to back-to-back NBA championships was officially placed on waivers on July 4. The Heat announced that they will retire Bosh's #1 jersey. He is suffering from what is believed to be a career-ending illness.

“Chris changed his life and basketball career when he came to Miami,” according to a statement released by Heat President Pat Riley. “And he changed our lives for the better, in a way we never would have imagined, when he joined the Miami Heat. We will forever be indebted to CB for how he changed this team and led us to four trips to the NBA Finals and two NBA Championships." (Sign up for our free Daily Newsletters and Breaking News Alerts for the Miami Patch.)

LeBron James, who was also a member of Miami's Big Three along with Dwayne Wade, tweeted: "#Salute my bother" and "#1Forever" following the Heat announcement, which came on the Fourth of July holiday.

Like Miami Patch on Facebook

Wade simply posted icons of three men and two rings on his social media account. Riley added that Bosh is "without a doubt, one of the greatest players" in the history of the team.

"The number '1' will never be worn by another player and we can't wait to someday hang his jersey in the rafters. Today, we are both moving on but we wish Chris, Adrienne and their family nothing but the best," he explained. "They will forever be part of the Miami Heat family.”

The 11-time NBA All-Star earned six of those honors in his six seasons with the Heat and and all but two of the seasons of his 13-year NBA career.

Bosh tweeted his thanks to the Heat organization, its fans and the city of Miami on Tuesday. With Bosh, LeBron and Wade, the HEAT won championships in 2012 and 2013 and made four consecutive trips to the NBA Finals from 2011-2014.

Bosh famously grabbed an offensive rebound with 6.3 seconds remaining in regulation of Game 6 on June 18, 2013 and made the pass to Ray Allen that allowed him to tie the game with a three-pointer to force overtime and eventually leading to the 2013 NBA Championship.

Bosh appeared in 384 games for the HEAT over six seasons, and averaged 18.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 34.2 minutes, while shooting 49.6 percent from the floor, 34.4 percent from three-point range and 80.5 percent from the foul line.

He ranks third among the Heat's all-time leaders in free throw percentage, fourth in double-figure scoring efforts, fifth in points, fifth in scoring average, fifth in free throws made, fifth in defensive rebounds, sisth in field goal percentage, sixth in field goals made, sixth in free throws attempted, sixth in total rebounds, sixth in starts, seventh in field goals attempted, seventh in blocked shots, tenth in minutes, 10th in three-point field goals attempted, 11th in double-doubles, 11th in offensive rebounds, 11th in games played, 11th in steals, tied for 14th in three-point field goals made, 20th in assists.

Bosh appeared in 893 games during his NBA career and made 881 starts, averaging 19.2 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.04 blocks and 35.8 minutes, while shooting 49.4 percent from the floor, 33.5 percent from three-point range and 79.9 percent from the foul line. He scored in double-figures 815 times, grabbed double-figure rebounds on 332 occasions and was selected as the NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week nine times and Player of the Month once throughout his career.

Chris Bosh #1 of the Miami Heat takes a shot against Dirk Nowitzki #41 of the Dallas Mavericks in the first half at American Airlines Center on February 3, 2016 in Dallas (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)