Isaiah Thomas recalls his cold-blooded game-winner from college


As we saw during Monday's win in Miami, Isaiah Thomas has no fear when it comes to taking the big shot. I feel like every time he takes, and makes, a crucial bucket, Thomas should run down the court doing the Sam Cassell's "big balls" dance.

Thomas, writing for the Players' Tribune (it's an excellent read), took some time earlier in the week to break down one of his most famous shots from his college days, when he attended the University of Washington:

My plan wasn’t to step back like Kemba. I wanted to wait until time wound down and just cross over and shoot. I’d crossed that same defender pretty hard earlier in the game, so I figured I had it, but this time he played it well — so well that as I crossed, I thought I had a better shot taking it to the basket instead of pulling up.

During his brief time in Boston, fans have already seen how confident Thomas is on the basketball court, and college was no different:

It was the first time I ever stepped back to the left and shot, and as soon as I let it go, I knew it was good. It was perfect. Just as it hit the net, the clock hit zero and the backboard lit up as if to say, “Yeah, dude just hit that.” I couldn't have timed it more perfectly.

The 26-year-old's cockiness and willingness to have the ball in his hands during the game's pivotal moments has made him an instant fan-favorite.

For Gus Johnson, the CBS announcer for that day, the shot was one of his most memorable calls. Watching the video makes you realize how much he is missed, calling the March Madness games for CBS.



The 5-foot-9 guard talks about how that call still follows him today:

Everywhere I went after that, people would call out: “Cold-blooded!” And it was because of Gus Johnson. I made the shot, but he made it that much better. Even when I was playing in Phoenix, I would hear it. There were a lot of Arizona fans out there, so I’d just smile back, knowing that they were cheering for me now and I had to do ‘em like that.

Let's hope the Celtics can creep into the playoffs because I believe Thomas has one or two of these "cold-blooded" shots in his arsenal for the NBA's biggest stage.

Photo by Isaac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images

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