America, meet your new favorite NBA star: Isaiah Thomas
COMMENTARY
There’s a chance — if Celtics announcer Tommy Heinsohn’s urgent critiques of NBA refs are not your bedtime soundtrack — that you don’t know much about Isaiah Thomas.
Thomas is already star in Boston, but he’s about to be fully introduced to a national audience as the Celtics play LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals.
If you’re already a fan, you’ll recognize the qualities below as the things you like about Thomas most. For the uninitiated, here’s a quick primer on the budding Celtics superstar.
He’s short
At 5-feet-9-inches tall, Thomas is tied with Calvin Murphy for the all-time shortest NBA All-Star. That’s 11 inches shorter than Cavaliers superstar LeBron James.
LeBron James and Isaiah Thomas shake hands toward the end of a game in December.
He’s an underdog
Thomas came into the NBA as the very last pick (60th) in the 2011 NBA Draft, and to the Celtics via a trade with Phoenix, the second time he was dealt. Here’s a fun, I told-you-so look at all 59 players drafted ahead of him.
He scores. A lot.
Thomas wasn’t just the best Celtic during the regular season — he was one of the best players in the NBA. His 28.9 points per game ranked third in the league, and he recently scored 53 points in a playoff game against the Wizards. There aren’t many shots he won’t take — and make.
Isaiah Thomas scores his 50th point of the night and sets the Garden on fire! https://t.co/TLE8c9Z4GT
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) May 3, 2017
He’s impossibly creative
While the “he’s short” narrative is a little tired, there’s no question Thomas has to make the most of what he has against taller players.
And he does it …
But how? 🤔 https://t.co/PcdQEP3Tqe
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) May 16, 2017
consistently….
well.
He’s physically tough
Thomas lost a tooth during Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Wizards after taking an elbow to the face.
https://twitter.com/SInow/status/858735078096162817
After picking up the tooth and briefly getting some help from team medical staff, Thomas drained back-to-back 3-pointers.
IT nails his second consecutive trey to get TD Garden on its feet! https://t.co/wnVcaVqD8W
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) April 30, 2017
He’s emotionally tough
Thomas recently lost his younger sister, Chyna, in a car accident. His 53-point game came on what would have been his sister’s 23rd birthday. He dedicated the performance to her.
Hear from Isaiah Thomas following his career-high 53 points to lead the @Celtics in Game 2 victory. pic.twitter.com/G2I61YCIvy
— NBA (@NBA) May 3, 2017
He keeps his cool
The Celtics lost in brutal fashion to the Wizards in Game 6, and yet there was Thomas right afterward, talking with quiet confidence about how Game 7s are “where legends are born.” He scored a team-high 29 points as the Celtics sealed a spot in the East Finals.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJTNlJUWwr0
He’s a student of the game
Kobe Bryant is Thomas’s childhood idol, and the former Lakers star reached out to Thomas recently following the death of his sister. The two talked basketball, and winning in general.
“He told me this story about how a lion seeks food, whatever he’s gonna kill and eat,” Thomas said. “And you know how many bugs are on the lion’s eyes and gnats on his body? He’s so locked in on that zebra that he doesn’t get distracted by anything else. He said if you get distracted by little things, then you’re not as locked in as you think you are. He said for me to be a lion, and that’s gonna stick with me the rest of my life.”
He has an adorable sports kid
Jaiden Thomas has advice for Dad on defending John Wall, and is shaping up to be a decent ball handler.
Dribbling backwards: not as easy as it looks https://t.co/o8QEoAG1cg
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) May 2, 2017
He owns social media
Thomas is taking a break from Twitter during the playoffs, but if you have any doubt about the power he wields, just look what happens when he tweets even a single emoji.
https://twitter.com/Isaiah_Thomas/status/833849682656796673
He’s the ultimate closer
Thomas finished the regular season second in the NBA in 4th-quarter scoring, averaging 9.8 points per game in the period. When you see Thomas do this (and the hashtag #IsaiahTime), it means he’s doing his best work.
Celtics fans and Boston guard Isaiah Thomas know it was Isaiah time after Thomas put the final nail in the coffin with a short jumper to give Boston a 129-119 win over the Washington Wizards. (Barry Chin/Boston Globe)
