Chris Boucher Joining Shanghai Sharks

A former undrafted free agent, Boucher spent most of his NBA career with the Raptors — his seven years in Toronto were sandwiched by brief stints with Golden State and Boston. The 6’8″ forward/center averaged 8.7 points and 5.1 rebounds in 17.6 minutes per game over the course of 416 career regular season appearances (23 starts) and played in another 15 postseason contests.

Boucher, 33, won consecutive championships in 2018 and 2019 with the Warriors and Raptors and earned Sixth Man of the Year votes in 2021 after enjoying a career year in which he averaged 13.6 PPG and 6.7 RPG with a .514/.383/.788 shooting line in 60 games for Toronto.

Boucher signed a one-year, minimum-salary contract with the Celtics during the 2025 offseason, but he saw action in just nine games for the team and was dealt to Utah at the 2026 trade deadline as Boston sought to duck below the luxury tax line. The Jazz subsequently waived him and he had been an unrestricted free agent since then.

Teams in the Chinese Basketball Association are permitted to carry up to three “import” players at a time, so Boucher is replacing another NBA veteran, JaVale McGee, who is being waived by the Sharks after averaging 5.1 points and 2.9 rebounds in 10.6 minutes per game in eight outings so far this season.

Shanghai, which is off to a 7-1 start this fall, also has former NBA guards D’Angelo Russell and Brandon Goodwin on its roster. The backcourt duo has played a key role in the Sharks’ early success, with Russell contributing 18.0 points and 5.7 assists per game while Goodwin has averaged 19.6 PPG and 8.6 APG.