Two-time All-Star Isaiah Thomas bids the LA Lakers goodbye, thanking the Jeanie Buss organization for allowing him to play.
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Isaiah Thomas is one of the most tragic cases in the NBA, from being a runner-up in the MVP race to not finding a home to play. The former Celtics guard’s hip injury ruined his longevity in the league. After being traded from the Celtics, Isaiah’s career graph witnessed a sharp drop.
IT was traded from one team to another, playing a few minutes, coming off the bench. Soon Isaiah was seen playing for several private tournaments putting up spectacular numbers. The former All-Star guard had an 81-points and 65-points performance within a week while playing in the Crawsover pro-am league.
In his NBA G-league debut, Isaiah dropped 42-points. There were reports of teams such as the Warriors and Lakers having workouts with IT. However, Isaiah had to wait for his second stint. With many players entering the league’s COVID protocols, teams began to sign players on short-term contracts. That is when Isaiah suited up for the Lakers.
The thirty-two-year-old signed a ten-day contract with the purple and gold team. Unfortunately, the Lakers wouldn’t re-sign IT.
Isaiah Thomas thanks the Lakers organization in a post on Instagram.
The veteran guard appeared in four games for the Lakers, including one game as a starter. Though Isaiah had shown signs of good offense, his defense continued to be a drawback. IT struggled with his efficiency in all four appearances.
The former Celtics guard averaged 9.3 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 1.5 APG on 30.8% shooting from the field, and 22.7% from the 3-point line. One of his most disappointing outings came against the Phoenix Suns. In the 26 minutes he played, Isaiah was 1-for-11 from the field.
Though things didn’t fall in place for Isaiah, he was grateful to the Lakers organization for giving him an opportunity.
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Isaiah’s dedication and hustle attitude are praise-worthy. Many criticized the Celtics organization for being unfair to IT at the time. However, Isaiah was confident of his skill-set, continuing to make his way back.
Thus one hopes the former All-Star finds his way back in the league.