15 stars you might have forgot played for the Los Angeles Lakers

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3. Isaiah Thomas (2018)

Isaiah Thomas was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers on Feb. 8, 2018. One year prior to that day, he was on top of the basketball world.

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In Feb. 2017, Thomas was in the middle of his best season ever. Playing point guard for the Celtics, he received All-Star and All-NBA honors, he finished fifth in league MVP voting, and he was third in the league in scoring at 28.9 points per game.

Thomas led the Celtics to a No. 1 seed in the East that year. After his younger sister died in a car accident on the eve of the playoffs, Thomas became one of the most inspirational stories in sports, on top of his already being the classic underdog as a 5’8″ kid who had once upon a time been the last pick in the NBA Draft.

The 2017 postseason run ended for Thomas in the Eastern Conference Finals when Boston lost to Cleveland and Thomas suffered a hip injury.

That summer, Thomas was traded to Cleveland for another superstar point guard, Kyrie Irving. The hip injury delayed his debut with the Cavs until January 2018. It quickly became clear that Thomas didn’t fit what the Cavs were doing, and he was traded to L.A. after just 15 games for Cleveland.

One year after he was seemingly a certified superstar, Thomas was trying to salvage his career with the Lakers.

He played in 17 games for L.A., averaging 15.6 points and 5.0 assists.

Since then, Thomas has bounced around the league, unable to find a steady home and an ideal fit. He’s currently a free agent after being waived by the LA Clippers on Feb. 9 — almost two years to the day since he first came to L.A. as a member of the Lakers.

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