Isaiah Thomas snubbed yet again, no nomination for Eastern Conference player of the month award


Isaiah Thomas just can't seem to catch a break. It seems that for every minute of recognition he gets, he receives ten hours of straight hate right back. Sure, IT is short, one of the shortest players in history but this fact alone cannot take away from everything he has done and continues to do.

Anyway, this all started two summers ago when IT was ranked 88th in Sports Illustrated's Top 100 NBA player's list. Obviously this didn't sit very well with Thomas.


Then, this offseason, after a productive year by Thomas in which he averaged 22 points and 6.2 assists per game, SI had a change of heart and bumped Thomas up to 45th. Again, much to the dismay of Thomas.


Things evened out a bit when Slam Magazine ranked IT the 25th best player in the league in their top 50 NBA player's list. Sure, IT was likely not happy with this ranking but it was an improvement. But then, since we need some hate again to even things out, IT didn't make it onto the FiveThirtyEight's list of the top 53 franchise player's in the NBA. Yes, that's a little absurd.

This season, IT has been on an absolute tear and has averaged 26 points, 6.1 assists and 2.6 rebounds per game to go along with a 24.66 PER. Thomas was selected into his first All-Star game last year and he's been proving that he was well worth of the nod. But with All-Star play comes a certain level of recognition, or you would think.

Each month the NBA hands out a Player of the Month award to a deserving player in each conference. For the month of November, the East nominee's were LeBron James, Kemba Walker, Jimmy Butler, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, Hassan Whiteside, Carmelo Anthony, Kristaps Porzingis and DeMar DeRozan. James walked away with the award after posting 23.5 points, 9.3 assists and 8.1 rebounds per game.

For the month of November, IT averaged 26.3 points and 6.2 assists per game. In all but a single game against the Bulls, Thomas was the leading scorer for the C's in 15 games.

Unfortunately, Thomas didn't even receive a nomination for the award. Fellow division opponents Carmelo Anthony and DeMar DeRozen averaged 22.6 and 27.7 points respectively in November. This begs the question - how didn't IT earn even a nomination? It's easy to say that IT was upset, hell, even former teammate Evan Turner chimed in:



Knowing Thomas, this will only further fuel his All-Star play thus far this season. After a campaign by Nike that featured banners of IT in North Station with the slogan, "Pick me last again," IT has been as motivated as ever.

But it's clear that even with his ridiculous play so far, he still has to overcome a lot of hurdles to get the full respect he has earned. Short or not, IT is not only playing comparably to other All-Star players in the league, he's on pace to set records.


So, what do you think? Do you think IT got snubbed again? Do you think he deserved at least a nomination? Let us know in the comments!


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Photo credit - Brian Babineau/Getty Images
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