Isaiah Thomas had it all throughout his professional career. As he entered the league of being the last overall selection of the 2011 Draft, he then crawled his way towards relevance. The hard work he exerted as a small point man has materialized that even he can’t even imagine – being a franchise player. But an improbable swing of injury unluckiness took all of his stardom and bright future that he desired, which sent him down crashing rock bottom.
Joining the “Ball Don’t Stop” podcast, Thomas detailed his past and current situation that ground his NBA life upside down.
“Obviously, things changed,” Thomas said, via NESN’s Gio Rivera. “Opportunity went down, I got hurt. But when I came back, every chance I got, the world expected me to get 30 (points) when I was not in the same situation – not even close. So, I’m really in a lose-lose situation. Cause if I get you 12, it’s like, ‘Ah, he lost his step.’ … What’s my strength, my whole career, is not backing down, not giving up. Any opportunity I got, took full advantage of it. Wanting to be the best player ever.
“So now I’m in this situation, I gotta retract those statements. Because it comes off wrong now. ‘Ah, he can’t take a backseat. He can’t be a (veteran) presence. He can’t be a sparkplug off the bench.’ Why can’t I? Just because I still wanna be the best? Just because, if you ask me, ‘Do (you) wanna start?’ I mean, yeah, I would love to start. I know my situation now. I know I’m not coming in starting. I could definitely make a team better, whether I play or not.”
After enjoying back-to-back seasons of bright lights for being the All-Star main man of the Boston Celtics, the curtain has dropped for Thomas after sustaining a brutal hip injury that took away all of his aspirations.
Besides questioning the hesitancy of teams to sign him due to his hip injury, Thomas also slammed the notion that he is a defensive black hole due to his undersized standing at 5-foot-9.
“I’ve never been a defensive liability,” Thomas said. “This is the most frustrating label I get. It’s because of me being 5’9. Nobody has ever taken advantage of me on an NBA court.”
It has been a challenging stretch ever since for Thomas, as he dwelled from being a star point guard to a basketball journeyman.
As such, the majority can only hope that an opportunity will knock on his door, wherein he can finally revive his old status within the association.
