If anyone is the most inspirational person in the NBA this year? That must have been Little Thomas.
With 175 cm tall, it is not easy to break through the NBA.
In the 2016-17 season, he was one of the best players in the NBA. He played for the Boston Celtics, averaging 28.9 points per game, fifth in the MVP vote while leading the team to the Eastern Conference Finals. At that time, it seemed that only the sky was his limit. Later, due to injury, he had no ball to play, but he still did not give up and still maintained high-intensity training.
He cried in the locker room after a semi-professional league game, slashing 81 points, and performed well in the 2023 FIBA World Cup qualifiers for the United States this year.
Thomas Jr. said after a game: "For me personally, the ultimate goal is to return to the NBA. I just love playing basketball. So it's clear that at some point, if the NBA isn't an option, I have to look at options overseas. When I fell in love with the sport, I was proud wherever I played. I love competition, I love playing against the best players in the world. ”
After all, his efforts were not in vain, and there were still people in the league who saw it. Thomas Jr. signed with the Denver Nuggets' development league team on Monday and slashed 42 points plus eight assists, six rebounds and two steals in his G-League debut yesterday.
He showed the NBA that he still has a strong ability to score. After the game, the official G-League social media said: He is back! (Also posted a GOAT emoticon).)
Many of his NBA brothers were happy for him, Bulls player LaVine commented on social media; "My brother is back where he belongs!" ”
Just this morning, another piece of good news was added to Thomas Jr.
With the Lakers starting backcourt Westbrook and Bradley triggering a health-safety agreement, and Munch, Howard and Tucker in quarantine, the Lakers are a missing major general, so they used a difficult exception to sign a 10-day short contract with Isaiah Thomas, the guard who cut the super numbers in the development league yesterday.
So far in his career, Thomas Jr. has played 528 regular season games in the NBA, averaging 18.1 points per game. Named to the NBA's All-NBA Second Team in the 2016-2017 season, the Celtics had the best game of their careers, playing in 179 games, averaging 24.7 points, 6.0 assists and 2.7 rebounds, shooting 44.3 percent from the field and shooting 36.8 percent from outside the three-point line. He was twice named an All-Star.
With a hip injury that eventually required surgery, its path to greatness stalled. He was later traded by the Celtics to the Cleveland Cavaliers and became teammates with James.
On February 9, 2018, he was traded to the Lakers by the Cavaliers, and played 17 games with the Lakers, averaging 15.6 points, 2.1 rebounds and 5 assists per game, this time he returned to the Lakers and joined forces with James again, can he conquer the recognition of the Purple and Gold Army chart with his own performance? Let's wait and see!
As he gets older, Thomas Jr.'s specialty does not appear to be very long, and the short board will appear short. This is a "slow ordeal" for Thomas Jr., this time to the Lakers short work, I hope that every time he appears he can play a high level, proving that you are still that person, after all, who does not like to watch inspirational stories!
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