We’re all rooting for Isaiah Thomas.
The NBA veteran continues to dominate in Pro-Am leagues across the country, most recently dropping 81 points in the Crawsover Pro-Am in Seattle on Seattle. The beloved point guard amassed 40 points by halftime, and elicited a standing ovation for his incredible performance.
But when Thomas headed into the locker room, he broke down. Still without a professional contract, Thomas is trying to make it back to the NBA. Last season, Thomas’ lone opportunity in the NBA came when a signed a 10-day contract with the Pelicans.
“They gave up on me,” Thomas said through his tears.
"They” probably means the NBA at large, though Thomas’ struggles began when Danny Ainge traded him to the Cavaliers in 2017 as part of the package to land Kyrie Irving. Thomas sacrificed his body for the Celtics that postseason, playing through a serious hip injury he suffered in the semifinals.
He also scored 53 points in the Celtics’ playoff opener. The game was played just one day after Thomas’ 22-year-old sister was killed in a single-car accident.
Ainge’s decision to trade Thomas was controversial around the NBA. Anthony Davis’ father publicized those feelings in 2019, when he cited Ainge’s apparent disloyalty towards Thomas as one of the reasons he wouldn’t want his son playing for the Celtics.
Thomas, 32, struggled in Cleveland before getting shipped to the Lakers at the 2018 trade deadline. He underwent surgery on his right hip about a month later.
Earlier this year, Thomas said the Celtics misled him about the severity of his injury. “The only thing that I think they handled wrong was not explaining to me what the extent of my injury could be if I do play,” he said on the “All The Smoke” podcast. “That was the biggest thing for me that I disliked. 'Cause nobody gave me no insight, 'OK, you do play, this can happen.’”
Last week, NBA Insider Mac Stein reported the Celtics “had interest” in bringing Thomas back, though the Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach later shot that down.
“IT return not in cards,” he tweeted Aug. 2.