Isaiah Thomas (basketball)

Isaiah Jamar Thomas (born February 7, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The 5-foot-9-inch (1.75 m) point guard played three years of college basketball for the Washington Huskies and was a three-time all-conference selection in the Pac-10. After electing to forgo his senior year in college, Thomas was selected by the Sacramento Kings with the final pick in the 2011 NBA draft. In 2016, he was named an NBA All-Star for the first time.

High school career

Thomas attended Curtis Senior High School in University Place, Washington, through 11th grade, and then transferred to South Kent School in Kent, Connecticut, to repeat the 11th grade because of academic deficiencies. He graduated from South Kent School in 2008. At Curtis, Thomas averaged 31.2 points as a junior.^[1] He called a news briefing on April 20, 2006 to announce his intention to sign with the University of Washington.^[2]

Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Thomas was listed as the No. 14 point guard and the No. 92 player in the nation in 2008.^[3]

College career

Thomas with the Washington Huskies in 2011

Thomas received blessings from Nate Robinson, the former Washington Huskies star, to wear his No. 2 jersey.^[4] In an exhibition game against Western Washington, Thomas scored 27 points on 9-of-12 field goals. He scored a season-high 27 points in an 81–67 home win over Morgan State on December 30, 2008.^[5] This bettered his previous high of 19 points scored in a 74–51 blowout over Florida International on November 20.^[5]

Thomas made an immediate impact upon arrival for the Washington Huskies during the 2008–09 season as he averaged 15.5 points, 2.6 assists, and 3.0 rebounds per game as a true freshman. He was named Pac-10 Freshman of the Year. As a sophomore, the scoring output continued as he raised his averages to 16.9 points, 3.2 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game. He was selected first team All-Pac-10.^[6]

Thomas was again named first team All-Pac-10 in his junior year. On March 12, 2011 Thomas scored 28 points and hit a game-winning buzzer beater in overtime to lead the Huskies to victory over Arizona in the championship game of the Pac-10 tournament. He was among the final ten candidates for the Bob Cousy Award in his junior season.^[7]

On March 31, 2011, Thomas declared for the NBA draft, forgoing his final year of college eligibility.^[8]

College statistics

Professional career

Sacramento Kings (2011–2014)

Before the 2011 NBA draft, Thomas participated in his own pre-draft documentary entitled "Road To The NBA-The Isaiah Thomas Story".^[9] Thomas was drafted as the 60th pick by the Sacramento Kings in the second round of the 2011 NBA draft. He was the final pick in the draft. On February 19, 2012, Thomas recorded his first double-double with 23 points and 11 assists against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

On March 1, 2012, Thomas was named the February Western Conference NBA Rookie of the Month after averaging 12.2 points and 4.4 assists per game in February.^[10] This would be the first time someone who was picked last in the NBA draft would win the Rookie of the Month award. On April 2, 2012 Thomas was once again named Western Conference NBA Rookie of the Month after averaging 13.6 points and 4.9 assists per game in the month of March.^[11] Thomas was also named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team and finished seventh in NBA Rookie of the Year voting.^[12]

On January 19, 2014, he scored a career-high 38 points in a loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.^[13] Five days later, he tied this total against the Indiana Pacers. On March 18, 2014, he recorded his first career triple-double with 24 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds in a 117-111 overtime win over the Washington Wizards; giving him status as the shortest player to ever record a triple-double in the NBA.^[14] During his last season with the Kings, Thomas joined the likes of Calvin Murphy (twice), Dana Barros, Damon Stoudamire, and Michael Adams as the only players under 6'0" tall to average over 20 points per game and 6 assists per game in a season.^[15]

Phoenix Suns (2014–2015)

On July 12, 2014, Thomas was acquired by the Phoenix Suns in a sign-and-trade deal that also sent the rights of Alex Oriakhi to the Kings.^[16] On August 14, 2014, Thomas underwent a successful arthroscopy of his left wrist, for an injury he sustained in the previous season.^[17] He went on to make his debut for the Suns in the team's season-opener against the Los Angeles Lakers. He recorded 23 points, 3 assists and 1 rebound in an 119–99 win.^[18] In the Suns' next game on October 31, Thomas again recorded 23 points in a 94–89 win over the San Antonio Spurs, becoming just the fourth Sun, joining Tom Chambers, A. C. Green, and Tom Gugliotta, to score at least 23 points in his first two games with the team.^[19]

After missing eight games with an ankle injury, Thomas returned to action on December 12 as he scored 10 points in the Suns' 103–105 loss to the Detroit Pistons.^[20] On January 21, 2015, He recorded a season-high 27 points off the bench in an 118–113 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. On February 5, Thomas was announced as a contestant for the NBA Skills Challenge, making him the shortest contestant to ever participate in the event.^[21]

Boston Celtics (2015–present)

On February 19, 2015, Thomas was traded to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Marcus Thornton and a 2016 first-round pick.^[22] Three days later, he made his debut for the Celtics as he recorded 21 points and 5 rebounds off the bench in a 118–111 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.^[23] On March 2, he was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played February 23 through March 1.^[24] On March 25, Thomas returned after missing eight games with a bruised lower back to score just four points in 20 minutes of action in a 93–86 loss to the Miami Heat.^[25] On April 8, he scored a season-high 34 points in a 113–103 win over the Detroit Pistons.^[26] This performance helped him earn Eastern Conference Player of the Week honors for a second time on April 13, for games played April 6 through April 12.^[27]

In his first career playoff game on April 19, Thomas recorded 22 points, 10 assists and 5 rebounds in a first-round Game 1 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.^[28] The next day, he was named the runner-up for the 2015 Sixth Man of the Year Award.^[29] In the Celtics' four-game first round playoff loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Thomas averaged 17.5 points, seven assists and three rebounds per game.

On October 28, 2015, Thomas scored a game-high 27 points off the bench in the Celtics' season-opening win over the Philadelphia 76ers.^[30] On December 16, 2015, he tied his then career high of 38 points in a loss to the Detroit Pistons.^[31] On January 28, 2016, he was named an Eastern Conference All-Star reserve for the 2016 NBA All-Star Game.^[32] Thomas became the lowest draft pick to be named an All-Star since the NBA draft was reduced to two rounds in 1989. He also became just the ninth player under 6 feet (1.8 m) to be named an All-Star, while also tying Calvin Murphy as the shortest player to be selected for the All-Star Game.^[33] On February 8, he was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played Monday, February 1 through Sunday, February 7. Thomas led the Celtics to a 4–0 week, including a road victory against the Eastern Conference-leading Cleveland Cavaliers. He averaged 20.3 points (12th in the East), 7.0 assists (tied for fourth in the conference) and 4.5 rebounds in those four games.^[34]

Down 2–0 to the fourth-seeded Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the playoffs, Thomas scored a career-high 42 points in Game 3 in Boston to lift the Celtics to a 111–103 win. He became just the ninth Celtic to score 40 points in a playoff game.^[35] With 28 points in Game 4, Thomas helped the Celtics even the series at 2–2 with a 104–95 overtime win.^[36] However, the Celtics went on to lose the series 4–2.

In the Celtics' season opener on October 26, 2016, Thomas scored a game-high 25 points in a 122–117 win over the Brooklyn Nets.^[37] He had back-to-back 30-point games for the Celtics on November 3 and November 6.^[38] On November 14, he scored a season-high 37 points in a 106–105 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans.^[39] He tied that mark on December 3, as he scored 37 points in a 107–106 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.^[40]

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Personal life

Thomas was named after former Detroit Pistons Hall of Fame point guard Isiah Thomas when his father, James, bet his friend that his favorite team, the Los Angeles Lakers, would defeat the Pistons in the 1989 NBA Finals (which the Pistons won in a four-game sweep). Even though the younger Thomas ended up being born months before the Finals took place, James had already warmed to the name. However, his mother, Tina Baldtrip, insisted on spelling it 'Isaiah', as she desired a biblical name.^[41] Because of his namesake's unpopularity among New York Knicks fans after unsuccessfully serving as head coach and team executive, the fans boo Isaiah Thomas whenever he plays in Madison Square Garden.^[42]

See also

• List of shortest players in National Basketball Association history

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from NBA.com, or Basketball-Reference.com
• University of Washington bio