Rapid Fall of Isaiah Thomas

**SPEAKER_1** (0:02)
The story of Isaiah Thomas is an inspiring one. How a 5'9 kid from Tacoma, Washington, managed to not only make it to the NBA, but for a short while become the face of the Celtics, averaging nearly 30 points per game, leading them from a first round exit team in 2016 to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2017
It's remarkable. But here in 2020, Thomas has found himself with no team and father time knocking on the door. So how does a player go from leading a franchise nearly to the finals in 2017, to being traded to five different teams in the last three years, and ultimately waived here in 2020, left with no team? This is the fall of Isaiah Thomas.
Being faced with adversity is nothing new to Isaiah. From birth, expectations were put on his shoulder being named after the great Isaiah Thomas of the Detroit Pistons. Growing up, Thomas attended Curtis Senior High School in University Place Washington throughout 11th grade. And once Isaiah's grades started to improve enough to get a scholarship, he ended up repeating his senior year of high school. Thomas ran his high school across the country at South Kent School in South Kent, Connecticut. After graduating from the prep school in 2008, Thomas was ranked the second best guard in the country, which secured him a full scholarship. At the time, Isaiah was averaging 31.2 points per game, which made University start to take full notice of his game, leading him to commit to the University of Washington. Now, before Isaiah Thomas even played a collegiate game, he got the blessing from former Washington Huskies star Nate Robinson to wear the number two jersey. Isaiah Thomas didn't disappoint. He was named the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, and as a true freshman, Thomas averaged 15.5 points, 2.6 assists, and three rebounds per game. After that first year, his confidence and ability continued to rise, leading Thomas to be selected first team all-Pac-10 during his sophomore year. With all of his statistics rising, Isaiah Thomas went into his junior season looking to keep making a name for himself, making the first team all-Pac-10 for the second year in a row, and in March, Thomas made the game-winning shot and secured the Washington Huskies' win at the Pac-10 Championship. Thomas would finish his junior year as one of the top candidates for the Bob Cousy Award, but he ended up not receiving it. Soon after, Isaiah Thomas would declare for the NBA Draft, forgoing his eligibility for his senior season. Once Isaiah Thomas declared for the draft, his inspiring story to NBA stardom began. Thomas was worried about the NBA Draft and when he would be selected. During an interview with The Undefeated, Isaiah Thomas went on to say, I was in Seattle. I was actually at the University of Washington with a couple of teammates and a couple of close friends. We were at the gym. We weren't watching the draft, but we were following it. I was waiting for my agent to call me. That was the longest day of my life. The longest day. Just waiting, waiting, and seeing names called before me. I kept believing. The Lakers had 4 picks in the second round, and their last pick was 58 I forgot all about Sacramento being my first workout. I was thinking, I might not get drafted. That was the first time that possibility crossed my mind. And then 2 picks later, during the 58th pick, my agent called me and said the Kings would pick me with their 60th pick. But being selected in the draft was just the beginning. Thomas had to continue to overcome adversity because once the Sacramento Kings selected him with the 60th pick, he had to earn every single minute of playing time. Isaiah Thomas recalls the first 2 years of his NBA career as some of the darkest times. In the interview with Undefeated, Thomas went on to say, I went through that my first 2 years, not playing. I remember talking to my wife when I came back home. I would say, I should be playing. I was complaining to her. She said, be happy that you're in the NBA. And ever since that day, she knew that wasn't the right thing to say. Wasn't about that. I could play at this level. At a high level, I always had to continue to show people. If I was 6 foot, I wouldn't have to continue to show people. It wouldn't even be a question. But since I'm 5'9, it's always gonna be a question. Thomas knew that because of his size, he'd have to put in twice the work for him to gain any recognition. The work ethic was there for Thomas, always using the gym as a place to get better and gain confidence. Isaiah Thomas would go on to say, I worked hard. I knew when I did get my opportunity, I'd take advantage of it no matter what it was. There were times when my confidence got low. Like, why is this happening? Those questions came to my head, I just went to the gym. The gym was the only thing that would let my mind be free and feel like everything was going to be all right. I just put work in. Every time my opportunity came, whether it was in practice, whether it was down 20 in the fourth quarter with two minutes left, I was ready for that moment. Now Isaiah Thomas played with the Sacramento Kings from 2011 to 2014 And during his last year in the Kings, Thomas began to show everyone that he was able to play, earning his first triple double, becoming the shortest to ever achieve that. And he was also averaging 20 points per game. Thomas was just starting to gain respect from the franchise and all the fans, but a sign and trade deal would occur, leading Isaiah Thomas to the Phoenix Suns. Thomas was with the Suns only through the 2014-15 season, an injury that plagued Thomas, as he underwent arthroscopy of his left wrist, an injury that occurred the previous season, and an ankle injury that caused him to miss eight straight games. On February 19, 2015, Thomas was traded to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Marcus Thornton and a 2016 first round draft pick, a trade that would change Isaiah's life forever. But at the time, Thomas wasn't happy. He even went on to say, When I got traded, I didn't want to go, because even though the Phoenix thing didn't work out, we were seventh or eighth in the West. We were fighting for a playoff spot. Boston had traded Rajon Rondo. They traded Jeff Green. They traded so many players. It was rebuilding time. So when I got traded there, damn, I gotta go to another team that's rebuilding at the end of their conference. Then when I checked, they were a game out of the playoffs. Hall of Famer Isaiah Thomas called me that day and said, You guys are a game and a half out of the eighth spot. Take this team to the playoffs. That's when it started changing a little bit to me. Maybe I could see the playoffs the first time in my career. And Isaiah Thomas went from the last overall pick to a superstar overnight with the Boston Celtics. And he had some of his greatest moments there. During an interview, Thomas was talking about his time with the Celtics by saying, It's unbelievable. There's no way they're feeling like Boston. Walking out into the garden for my first game, putting on that Celtics jersey, you can just feel the energy, the history. You got to give it 110% every night when you put on that Celtics jersey, because there's just so much history behind it. I just took advantage of the opportunity, stay in the moment. Sometimes I sit back and say, I play for the Celtics. It doesn't make sense. The last season Thomas had with the Celtics were some of the best and worst moments of his life. Isaiah Thomas ended up leading the Celtics to a first round playoff win over the Chicago Bulls. Only problem was, the day before the series began, Thomas' younger sister China Thomas would tragically pass away. Isaiah was heartbroken, but he ended up playing in the playoff game the next day, having one of the best games of his entire career. Thomas scored 33 points in 38 minutes during that game, and he was in the zone. Later on in the interview, Isaiah Thomas went on to say, Basketball has always been the only thing that can help when I'm going through something tough. For those few hours when I played, that blocked out everything. I needed that. It was therapeutic. Isaiah Thomas would lead the Boston Celtics to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2012, and he would play the first two games of that series, but would suffer a season-ending hip injury. The injury not only ended his season, but it would affect his career for life, and it ended his opportunity for a potential max contract. If Thomas had never torn his hip labrum, he'd currently be on his third season on a max deal. After everything is said and done, Thomas would lose close to $150 million due to this injury. Thomas would try to take those figures out of his mind, but he'd go on to say in an interview, to go from being able to make about 100 something million to making a million or two, that hurt right there. It's just having that security. It's making sure everybody in my family is good. All I'm worried about now is making sure my kids is good, my wife, my parents. That's all I care about. After everything was said and done, the Celtics would trade off Isaiah Thomas, the person who put blood, sweat, and tears and played with some of the most passion we had ever seen as NBA fans. The boss of Celtics went about this the wrong way. Thomas was upset. Looking back at the past, Isaiah Thomas was able to forgive, and he'd go on to say in an interview, I don't wish them bad luck. It's just, you can't duplicate what's real. Well, we are what's real. There was a time I was upset. I felt like it was handled the wrong way for a franchise player, but I don't hold no grudges. And ever since this moment in 2017, things have been a downward spiral for Isaiah. From 2017 until now, he's been with five different teams. The Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers, Denver Nuggets, Washington Wizards, and the Los Angeles Clippers. After being traded to the Los Angeles Clippers here in 2020, Thomas was waived just two days later, leaving him with no team and potentially no future in the NBA. Despite being waived, Thomas was showing that he still has what it takes when he was playing with the Wizards earlier this season. Prior to the trade, Thomas played 40 games with the Wizards, and his stats weren't bad. He was averaging 12.2 points per game and playing nearly 23 minutes. Thomas was enjoying the NBA game. Even when I'm to say in an interview, I'm at a good place mentally. I got my joy back. Obviously, once Thomas was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers and then waved two days later, he had a hard time understanding why. During an interview with Hoops Hype, Thomas wanted to say, I was surprised, but I understood the situation on the business side of things. I was really a throw in in the trade. It's not like they were trading for me. They were trading for Marcus Morris, which I understand. In my nine years in the NBA, I've learned that anything can happen. I thought it could work, and I thought it was a good fit for me, but they thought otherwise. That's okay. I'm just trying to figure out the best situation moving forward. Thomas knows that he's an asset to any team, but he's currently looking for the best fit. He's been at talks with some teams, but nothing has been said yet. Thomas did go in to share with Hoops Hype that he's still in shape and said, my health is good. As everybody has seen this season, I've been able to play every game and I've been able to practice every day. I wasn't having to take days off. I was able to just focus on working and getting better. With my health, there's no questions. Now I'm staying in shape and I'm ready for the next opportunity. Isaiah Thomas does have that veteran leadership quality and could really help a team off the bench. But with all the news surrounding him, not many teams are willing to give him that opportunity, which is what might inevitably end up forcing him to retire. When it came to retirement plans, Isaiah had a different take. And in an interview with Mark J. Spears of ESPN's The Undefeated, Thomas responded saying that he wants to keep playing for as long as he can. He said, I'm playing until I'm 40 I want to play until I can't no more for sure. But with no team significantly interested, the future of Isaiah Thomas is unclear. Isaiah Thomas has made a career of overcoming adversity. He's proven that size doesn't matter. And if there's anyone who can rise back up after a fall this big, I think it's him. And yo, dog, if you click on this video on the screen right here, a Taco Bell Doritos Locos taco will appear right in your mouth. OK, I'm capping. That's not going to happen. But let's just watch videos, you know what I'm saying? Just click on it. Just click on it.