Chris Boucher is a Canadian-Saint Lucian professional basketball player for the Toronto Raptors.
Boucher became the seventh Canadian player to win an NBA title with the NBA’s lone Canadian based franchise.
He was born January 11, 1993.
Boucher played college basketball for the Oregon Ducks.
Early Life
Chris Boucher was born in the Caribbean island of Saint Lucia, in the city of Castries.
When he was five years old, he travelled to Montreal with his mother, Mary McVane, to see his Canadian father, Jean-Guy Boucher and eventually remained in Canada.
After his parents’ divorce he was forced to drop out of school at a tender age of 16 working as a cook and dishwasher in a nearby restaurant.
Boucher lived in extreme poverty and never had a close relationship with his dad.
He was offered a spot on a tournament basketball squad in 2012, and in the tournament final, he scored 44 points against Max Lanoue, who he claimed couldn’t guard him at all.
Coaches Igor Rwigema and Ibrahim Appiah gave Boucher a position on the Amateur Athletic Union AAU team Alma Academy, where he had previously just played pickup basketball.
He accepted a position at the Academy, which was established to assist inner-city students with limited future prospects in obtaining a high school certificate.
Boucher’s 29 points and 12 rebounds in a game against Blair Academy in New Jersey drew the attention of Division I college coaches.
Boucher played one season at New Mexico Junior College.
Then, he went to Northwest College in Powell, Wyoming, where he was named NJCAA Player of the Year after leading the team to a 31–5 record.
Boucher transferred to Oregon after a school visit.
In his beginning at Oregon his coaches were made to worry due to his thin frame but made up for that with his energy.
As a senior, he was named to the Pac-12 Defensive Team after leading the conference in blocks with 2.6 per game.
On March 11, 2017, during the Pac-12 Tournament semifinals versus California, an opposition player fell awkwardly on Boucher’s leg, but he continued to play and finished with 10 points and four rebounds.
An MRI exam the next day confirmed a torn ACL, and he was ruled out for the rest of the season.
Due to his torn ACL injury he was unable to qualify for the draft leaving him undrafted.
But he was signed by the Golden State Warriors to a two-way contract being one of the very first players to enjoy such a contract a little while after its implementation.
On November 2, 2017, Boucher was called up to the NBA G League by the Santa Cruz Warriors an affiliate of Golden State after coming back from the ACL injury and made his debut in his first week signed.
On March 14, 2018, Boucher played his first NBA game with the Golden State Warriors recording 1 rebound and 1 three-point attempt.
After a season at the Warriors, On July 20, 2018, Boucher signed with the Toronto Raptors as a free agent for two years’ worth just over $2 million.
Boucher played 28 games with the Raptors’ NBA G League affiliate, the Raptors 905 and would go on to be named the G League 2018–19 Most Valuable Player and the league’s Defensive Player of the Year, becoming the first player to win both awards concurrently, & the first international player to win the league MVP award.
The Raptors made it to the 2019 NBA Finals where they defeated Boucher’s former team, the Golden State Warriors.
In doing so, Boucher became the sole Canadian player to win an NBA title with the NBA’s lone Canadian based franchise.
On April 8, 2021, Boucher hit another scoring high with 38 points, a career-high 19 rebounds and one assist in a 122–113 loss against the Bulls.
Boucher’s Contract?
Chris Boucher has reportedly agreed to a two-year, $13.5-million deal to stay with the Toronto Raptors, according to Adrian Wojnarowski.
What is Boucher’s Age?
Chris Boucher is 29 years old currently.
