No. 3: Chris Bosh
When the Toronto Raptors fell apart due to injuries in 2003, the consolation prize was the fourth overall pick in the absolutely-loaded 2003 NBA Draft. LeBron James went first to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Carmelo Anthony third to the Denver Nuggets, and Dwyane Wade fifth to the Miami Heat. The Raptors used their pick on Georgia Tech big man Chris Bosh. Those four players would combine for 54 All-Star appearances, including 11 for Bosh.
Bosh was an All-Star by his third season, averaging 22.5 points and 9.2 rebounds per game as he took the mantle of the team fully on his shoulders. The following season he finished seventh in MVP voting and led the Raptors back to the playoffs. He would play seven seasons with the Raptors, averaging 20.2 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game.
Bosh ranks third all-time in Toronto in career scoring; only Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan scored more. His 4,776 rebounds rank first in franchise history, as do his 500 blocks. More than just his production, however, Bosh's intensity and dinosaur-like profile made him part of the fabric of Toronto basketball; he looked like a player who could stay with the Raptors for a very long time.
Then came the summer of 2010, when Bosh teamed up with James and Wade with the Miami Heat to form the league's boldest "super team" of three All-NBA players in their primes. Bosh became the perfect complement to his ball-dominant co-stars, reinventing himself as a stretch-big and defender who unlocked the Heat's ceiling, and they would go to four-straight NBA Finals and win two titles, a bittersweet outcome for Raptors fans.