At 35 years old, Isaiah Thomas is still determined to find a place in the NBA. The diminutive point guard (1.75 meters) will look for it again from the G League, where he has played his first game with the Salt Lake City Stars, the affiliate of the Jazz.
And his presentation was enough to attract the attention of franchises: 40 points with 13/28 shooting and eight assists. His team lost 122-115 to the Valley Suns.
Thomas has been plagued by physical problems since the 2016-17 season, which was curiously the best of his career and the second in which he was an All Star. Playing for the Celtics, he averaged 28.9 points and was the fifth most voted player for MVP. But in the playoffs that season, he suffered a hip injury that caused him unbearable pain.
His performance began to decline, he played less and less and began to drift around the NBA. Seven teams in five seasons: Cavaliers, Lakers, Nuggets, Wizards, Pelicans, Lakers again, Mavericks and Hornets. In the 2021-22 campaign he went through the last three teams, accumulating 22 games in total. No one offered him a contract the following season and in 2023-24 only the Suns dared to sign him after he had also played well in the G League.
Those six games with the Phoenix franchise are the only ones he has played in the NBA since April 2022. He averaged 1.3 points and 0.5 assists in 3.2 minutes. He has not played in the league since April 2024, but he is still trying. Throughout his career he always had to break down the barriers that his small stature posed for him. Now he is trying to fight against his battered physique.
“For three years I tried to play with the best players in the world with one leg. I needed my children’s help to put my socks on in the morning,” he said before overcoming that damn hip injury that made him go from being an NBA star to a pariah.
For three years I tried to play with the best players in the world with one leg. I needed the help of my children to put on my socks in the morning
Isaiah Thomas (Salt Lake City Stars)
Thomas is looking for another opportunity, perhaps the last, to prove that he still has basketball to offer and to be able to say goodbye to the NBA on the court. He played 12 seasons in the league and played for 10 teams. He averaged 17.5 points and 4.8 assists over 556 games and is confident that by shining in the G League he can enjoy a few more.