As Chris Bosh prepared for his debut with his new team Tuesday night against the Celtics, the five-time all-star offered another reason as to why he left his former team, the Toronto Raptors.
Bosh told Toronto newspapers it was his desire for national exposure in the United States that helped fuel his move south.
“Really, it's all about being on TV at the end of the day,” Bosh said. “Seriously. A guy can average 20 (points) and 10 (rebounds), and nobody really cares. If you don't see it (on U.S. national TV), then it doesn't really happen.”
Bosh spent his first seven seasons with the Raptors, then left during the much-anticipated 2010 free agency period.
He and Lebron James signed to play alongside Dwyane Wade with the Miami Heat.
This is not the first time that Bosh has made his feelings about Toronto known since departing for Miami.
"I didn't want to go there," Bosh told the Miami Herald in July. "It was different. All I knew was Vince Carter was there and I never saw him play on TV. It was a whole different country, and it was just different. I'm 19 years old, I didn't know anything about culture and being away from home. All I know is the States. Toronto's a great place, a fantastic city. It's a metropolitan area, but you could tell you're somewhere different. You could feel it, you could look at it, you can smell it. Everything. All your senses tell you you're somewhere different."
Bosh makes his first appearance with the Heat in Toronto on Feb. 16
