The return of the Little Guy

On February 19, 2015, Marcus Thornton and a 2016 first-round pick were sent to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Isaiah Thomas. The 5'9 point guard from Washington was headed to Boston to play for the Celtics. He made his Celtics debut in LA against the Lakers just a couple days later. We ended up losing that game in overtime but Celtics fans knew after that game that we had something special in IT. He finished that game with 21 points and had an early exit due to an ejection. It's hard to understand unless you're from here but in Boston, an ejection like the one Isaiah suffered that game is loved by the fans.




  Isaiah's time in Boston was incredible. Although we didn't win a championship, it was such an enjoyable time to watch the C's for all NBA fans around the world. The Garden would be sold out every single night with thousands of Thomas jerseys filling up the seats. He was only here for about 2 and a half seasons, but in those seasons, he gave us a lifetime of memories. He made two all-star games and in 2017, finished 5th in MVP voting as he finished the year averaging 28.9 points with 5.9 assists. He gave us more than we could ever ask a player to give. In 2017, a day before the first-round series against the Bulls began, we found out the extremely unfortunate news that his younger sister Chyna has passed away in a car accident back home in Tacoma. IT could've sat out to mourn the loss and everyone would've understood completely, but instead, he still suited up for the playoffs. I will never forget the ovation he received during the introductions before Game one. The city knew how much he was hurting and we wanted to show we got his back and support him. After beating the Bulls, IT flew back home to attend the funeral and then was right back on the floor the next day for the Celtics.

 May 2, 2017, would have been Chyna's 23rd birthday. It also happened to be the day of Game two against the Washington Wizards. Isaiah was very emotional of course going in to the game and made sure to dedicate what he did on the floor that night to his sister. Isaiah was unstoppable and finished with 53 points and the win. It was one of the best games I have watched and Boston couldn't have been happier seeing Isaiah smile and dominate the game. Let's also not forget, in Game one against Washington, IT lost his tooth and continued to play and scored 33 points. That lost tooth required oral surgery on their day off between Games 1-2. 

 After Game two in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Cavs, IT re-injured his hip to the point where he would have to be shut down for the season. Unfortunately, that would be the last game IT played as a member of the Celtics. He played through it all until his body couldn't take it anymore. His hip continued to give him problems even through this last season. He has been getting bounced from team to team in the last couple years due to this major injury. 

 On Monday, it was reported that IT had another hip surgery and that he will be ready to go for the 2020-2021 season. IT says the time the Corona Virus gave us ultimately helped him. It gave more time for Isaiah to get the procedure done, recover, and still be ready to go for the season. I hope this procedure can turn things back around for IT. With a good hip, Isaiah is still a top PG in the league. He came in night in and night out and if this really fixed his hip, we could very well see him do it again. I can speak for all Celtics fans when I say I hope to see Isaiah Thomas back to playing basketball and doing it at the all-star level that a healthy Isaiah Thomas is capable of.


 


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Huge Boston sports fan looking to be the best journalist I can be. You can also follow me on Twitter and Instagram: GWDimis