“I’m not motivated by anything but the love of the game”: Isaiah Thomas expresses his excitement to be back in the NBA after almost 2 years

Isaiah Thomas made the season debut Friday night and showed the league that he’s still got it. The 5’9 guard was signed by the short-handed Los Angeles Lakers under hardship exemption. 

The Los Angeles Lakers have been struggling this season and it’s not just because of injuries and COVID. Even with the starting lineup intact, they’ve lost to lottery teams this season.

To add to their misery, the entire bench has entered health and safety protocol. In addition, Anthony Davis suffered a strained MCL against Minnesota Timberwolves which will keep him out for at least a month.

It’s the second time this season that the Lakers have lost to Minnesota Timberwolves. Even though their leading scorer Anthony Edwards was sidelined, T’wolves blew out the Lakers. LeBron James and Russell Westbrook were visibly struggling on the offensive end.

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Isaiah Thomas made his way back to the NBA after almost 2 seasons

It’s crazy to think Isaiah Thomas went from leading his team in the playoffs to getting waived, all in the span of just 2 years. He played for the Boston Celtics through injuries and got traded as a reward when he needed his team the most. He was not the same player after the hip surgery and kept being jumping from one team to another.

Friday night he led the Lakers in scoring with 19 points against the Minnesota Timberwolves. It’s his second stint with the team, first was back in 2018 when he only played 17 games off the bench.

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Isaiah Thomas has been fighting tirelessly to make a comeback and he finally got the chance when the Lakers signed him, albeit for just 10 days. He dropped 81 points in the Pro-AM league and 42 in the G-League debut this week. The 2x all-star believes he has fully recovered from the multiple hip surgeries he’s had in the past few years.

He hopes for a second chance in the NBA and this brief stint might just be it. Malik Monk, THT, and Austin Reaves are currently in quarantine and will be listed out until they test negative. The Los Angeles Lakers are set to face Chicago Bulls who are missing some key players as well. They need this game to stay afloat otherwise they will fall down to the 10th position in the western conference.