The water bottles were sweating and so was the press. It wasn't a good start for Chris Bosh. Keeping the media waiting in a sweltering gym on your first day in town isn't generally a wise idea.

But the Raptors' first-round draft pick defused the situation when he sat down at the podium, smiled shyly and apologized.

"You'll have to excuse me," said Bosh, clad in a pair of black tearaways and a Raptors golf shirt, flanked by nattily attired general manager Glen Grunwald and coach Kevin O'Neill.

"I was held up at the airport, so I'm not as flashy as these guys."

Flashy fades, politeness stays. It's a value that's been drilled into the 19-year-old by his parents. His dad, Noel, sat quietly to one side with the rest of the family as his oldest son began his professional basketball career in the glare of the cameras.