Here’s why Jayson Tatum has ‘a lot of respect’ for Isaiah Thomas
"You've got to be really special to do that, especially at that height, and to have the heart that he does."
The last Celtics player to go on a run like the one Jayson Tatum is currently on was Isaiah Thomas in 2017 during his All-NBA second-team run that earned him a not-insignificant number of MVP votes.
Thomas — who is nearly a foot shorter than Tatum — had found a home with the rebuilding Celtics, and he led them through heartache and tragedy to the Eastern Conference finals in 2017 after his sister died in a car accident.
Thomas, who has been battling to get back into the league, seems to have found a little traction with the Hornets on a 10-day deal. Facing his former team on Wednesday, Thomas played 11 first-half minutes and finished with five points. Afterward, Thomas could be seen sharing a moment with Tatum — the new face of the Celtics, who had just finished dropping 44 points on Thomas’ new team.
Tatum was asked about Thomas in his postgame press conference.
“Obviously I’ve seen him play his whole career and I got a lot of respect for him, what he’s done, and things that he’s been through,” Tatum said. “I don’t think that people understand that at five-foot-nine, on a great day — I remember being in college watching him the year before I came, averaging 28 points, 14 points in the fourth quarter, scoring 50 in the playoffs, things like that.
“Obviously, you’ve got to be really special to do that, especially at that height, and to have the heart that he does. So, happy for him. Happy he’s still getting opportunities to do what he’s going to do.”
Thomas has made it clear he’s open to a Celtics return, and fans clamor for him to come back every season.
“I mean I’ve tried to have conversations about that,” Thomas said earlier this week. “It’s hard to speak on because I’ve opened my arms to try to come back in so many ways. It’s not even about playing and trying to pick up where I left off. I’m past that moment but I know there’s been times where I can help in that locker room.
“I’m not in there every day so I can’t speak on what’s going on. This is from the outside looking in but I’ve felt there’s been times where Brad [Stevens] could make a call and give me an opportunity and it hasn’t happened.”
Ime Udoka told reporters the Celtics just didn’t really need a point guard, especially after they traded Dennis Schröder but brought back Derrick White at the deadline.
“With Marcus playing at the level he is, and Payton [Pritchard] getting the opportunity, and then Derrick being able to do some, as well as Jayson and Jaylen [Brown] handling quite a bit, point guard was never really a position of need,” Udoka said.
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