Isiah Thomas’ career has been on a downward spiral since his injury at the end of the 2016-17 season. Thomas was having a career year and absolutely lording over opponents in the 4th quarter.
Advertisement
Boston fans loved him and his underdog to top dog story and almost everyone expected him to get extended in the post season once he became eligible. But the injury came and Kyrie Irving decided to move base to anywhere but Cleveland and in an instant Isaiah Thomas’ career turned upside down.
IT is a system player. The Boston system was the ultimate version of pace and space and it suited IT perfectly. Moved to Cleveland, coming off the injury, IT was a terrible fit for LeBron’s Cavs where he saw a lot less of the ball as compared to the Celtics and there wasn’t the movement in offense due to James’ pounding the rock style that worked so well for Cleveland.
He was traded to the Lakers mid season after not playing too much with the Cavs. He sustained another injury to the hip and decided to go for a hip surgery and shut down for the season.
He decided to join the Denver Nuggets with a 1 year – $2 million, still hoping for a big pay day having never gotten a contract that paid him higher than $4 million.
But the Boston Celtics fans still love IT, who played in a playoff game against the Bulls in the 2017 season a day after attending his sister’s funeral. Chyna Thomas, Isaiah’s sister passed away in a car crash but IT played the next Celtics game against the Bulls, top scoring with 33 points.
It was a game filled with emotions as IT played through tears and the crowd felt his pain. Things like that bond a player and a city in a way few other things can and the fans still have that connection with him. Unfortunately that brought out the best and the worst of NBA to the forefront.
The Celtics fans loved IT, but Danny Ainge is nothing if not calculating and he realized a future with younger Kyrie was better for the team than one with Isaiah Thomas who would be returning from a serious injury and was already a limited mobility player due to his size of 5 feet and 8 inches.
The tribute video in Boston today was a great moment for the fans and IT, who also seemed to hold back tears as the video touched upon everything Isaiah did in his time with the Celtics. It started off with his heroics in the 4th quarters and playoffs and went through everything else IT did for the community and his teammates.
It was a special moment for sure. But it was a moment that showed the best and worst of the NBA. The fans who cheered so loudly for IT, that you would be forgiven for thinking he had just won them a championship, were the best of NBA.
The fact that a man who gave everything for a team was so easily dispatched, which led to such a sharp decline in his game and earning capacity shows the ruthless business aspect of the game, that from a third party point of view, represents the worst aspect of NBA.
At least IT still dreams of a return to Boston having said earlier in the day that he wouldn’t rule out a return to the Celtics in his future. Good luck IT, if anyone deserves a happy ending to their career, its you.
