TORONTO – You weren’t the only one worried Chris Boucher at that time.

At the end of last month’s game against Philadelphia, the Raptors’ springy forward went to meet the 76ers star. Tyrese Maxey at the edge. The block was successful and initiated a transition opportunity that led to a big three-pointer from Jamison Battle the other way. It was a crucial fourth-quarter sequence that gave Toronto its first win of the young season.

The problem ? Boucher collided with Maxey on the way down, flipping his body into the air. With his legs flying in opposite directions, he landed hard on his back. You could hear the collective gasp of fans in the arena and see the worried look on the faces of his teammates and coaches.

But after taking a second or two to make sure he was still in one piece, the 31-year-old bounced back, as he is wont to do. He sprinted down the field and rejoined the play before Battle could shoot.

“I don’t know, man,” Boucher told TSN a few days later. “A lot of people ask me why I wasn’t injured. Adrenaline does a lot of the work for me. During the match where I was playing on adrenaline, I didn’t feel anything and thank God I’m still fine. I still don’t know what happened.

“My mother was crying.”

This is the story of his professional journey and his life. Boucher falls, but he always gets up.

A year ago, the veteran faced a confusing new reality. After playing a key role and bringing his signature energy off the bench for several seasons under former Raptors head coach. Nick NurseBoucher didn’t play much and, at first, he didn’t understand why.

He was healthy on opening night. By midseason, he had completely disappeared from Darko Rajakovic’s rotation and was hearing his name pop up in trade speculation leading up to the February deadline.

Boucher’s level of effort was never in question; its engine is undeniable. But with the new head coach preaching quick passing and a more conservative, fundamentally sound defensive approach, he no longer seemed like a natural fit in the team’s system. It was a lot to handle, especially for someone who was also adjusting to being a new father for the first time.

“It was tough,” he said. “Obviously I was trying to find ways to be a good father, but I also had to find ways to get on the field. And then they were talking about trading me and if I leave, my son is still here and I have to find a way to (see him). So it was definitely difficult. I feel like it was a little difficult not to show it, not to show the world that I was affected by it.

It wasn’t a new feeling for Boucher, just a different obstacle to overcome. This is the same guy who was born in St. Lucia, moved to Montreal North when he was 5, left school at 16 and went to work as a dishwasher in a chicken restaurant to help his mother. He didn’t start playing organized basketball until he was 20, tore his ACL late in his senior season at Oregon, and had to fight his way to the NBA in as an undrafted free agent, and won G League MVP and Defensive Player of the Year in 2018-19 before finally earning a spot with the Raptors. He is no stranger to adversity or his ability to overcome it.

But last season was a wake-up call, a reminder that his incredible rags-to-riches story could end in an instant if he let it.

It’s not that the Raptors decided not to trade him; is that they couldn’t, not without attaching a draft pick or two to the remainder of his contract – he still had one full season left on the three-year, $35.25 million deal he signed in 2022. His career earnings exceed $50 million, and he was fortunate to sign two NBA contracts, but at the rate things were going, it was fair to wonder if there would be a third.

The summer gave him a much-needed opportunity to reflect and reset. He relied on his mother, his brother and his longtime friend and manager, Ibrahim Appiah. He sought advice from the people who would ultimately determine his fate with the Raptors: Team president Rajakovic Masai Ujiri and general manager Bobby Webster.

He came out with a new mindset. To extend the length of his career, he knew he would have to become a better and more complete player.

Playing hard can take you far, and Boucher is living proof of the concept; he has eight seasons in the NBA to prove it. The next step was not only to play hard, but also smart: to see the field better, to make extra passes, to take fewer and more calculated risks in defense, to be more focused and to make fewer mistakes.

“I think there were a lot of things I was doing and I kept saying I needed to do better, but I never changed that,” Boucher said. “Obviously, when things are going well and you’re playing all the time, you (think), well, I’m going to keep doing what I want. But by the time I wasn’t playing anymore, I was like, okay, well, now I have to figure this out, otherwise I won’t be here anymore.

The change in his approach was noticeable at the start of training camp this fall. With the pre-season opener taking place in his hometown of Montreal, Boucher was the first reserve to check in. What initially seemed like a nice gesture from Rajakovic turned out to be a sign of things to come. A year after earning a DNP-CD (did not play, coach’s decision) on opening night, Boucher logged 20 minutes and scored a team-high 18 points in the first game of the regular season.

He played at least 13 minutes in all eight of the Raptors’ games, and the team earned his minutes in five of them. He scored 24 points — his most since 2021 — in Saturday’s win over Sacramento, Vince Carter’s jersey retirement night, and had Carter’s motor celebration after hitting one of his four three-point shots.

Certainly, injuries to Scottie Barnes and backup center Kelly Olynyk opened the door to more playing time, but Boucher took advantage of the opportunity. This is who he is, who he has always been.

Who would have thought that the very raw 25-year-old who signed a contract in training camp and then a two-way contract with the Raptors before their 2018-19 championship campaign would be the club’s longest-tenured player six seasons plus late. ?

“I probably would have taken that bet if you wanted to put money on it,” his former coach, Nurse, joked recently.

But Boucher is a basketball survivor. Every time he left Nurse’s circle of trust, he found a way to get back in. Every time you count him, he comes back better and stronger than ever. He has nine lives, and he may still have a few left.

“He’s doing his thing, man,” the nurse said. “When you can shoot and you’re (6-foot-9) and you’re playing active with energy, you’re probably going to find the floor. Even if no one wants it (sometimes), you will find the floor. That’s kind of what we’ve always done. We always had him on the bench as an energetic, bubbly guy. And the only thing about him, man, is he comes to play. There’s hardly any night where you say Chris didn’t play really hard tonight. Do you already remember it? I don’t know.”

There will still be times when this is not enough. He’s still prone to occasionally pop his head at the start of the shot clock or stare at an open shooter to dribble through traffic.

Less than a minute into the fourth quarter of Monday’s loss to Denver, Rajakovic took a timeout to coach Boucher following a few missed defensive assignments, but mostly didn’t take him out of the game. A few possessions later, Boucher passed up a good look from the corner to find RJ Barrett for a better shot at the top of the arc. Then he chased down a defensive rebound and wisely threw it over the leg of a Nuggets player as he fell out of bounds.

At 31, he’s probably not going to completely reinvent himself, but that doesn’t mean he can’t continue to evolve and improve his game. Even though he’s the third oldest player on his team, Boucher does not consider himself a finished product. Given his late start to basketball, he might be right. There may still be another level to reach, and given that he’s playing for a new contract – whether in Toronto or elsewhere – now would be a good time to make that jump.

“One thing I keep telling everyone is that most people have been playing basketball since they were eight years old, or maybe three, four, five, six years old,” Boucher said. “I started when I was 20, so if you count, it’s like 12 years of basketball (that I’m making up). So, I’m still learning a lot. Even physically, I don’t feel like I’m 32. A lot of things I do now, it’s like, okay, a rookie would do this. But I still have 30 years in my head and I’m trying to be a veteran, talk to the young guys and be a source of help for this team.

“I’m in a much better place than I was, mentally and physically. So, I think (last season) was definitely a blessing in disguise, for sure.”