Isaiah Thomas is a pretty well-traveled NBA veteran, having played for 10 different NBA teams in his 10-year career. He is no stranger to adversity, whether it be through various trauma such as the loss of his sister, career-threatening injuries to his hip, or needing to find the most unconventional way back to the NBA.
The 5’9″ guard is no stranger to being overlooked, either, going from the last pick in the NBA draft back in 2011 with the Sacramento Kings to being a sixth-man turned NBA superstar with the Boston Celtics. You can underestimate the size of a player, but not the size of his heart.
Isaiah Thomas found a new home with the Charlotte Hornets
When I talk about unconventional ways to get in the league, for Thomas, it was playing in summer rec leagues, playing on the USA team, and putting up gaudy numbers in the G-league. He got some sporadic stints with other NBA teams via 10-day covid hardship contracts but never was able to stick long with the Lakers or the Mavericks.
The Charlotte Hornets traded away their backup point guard Ish Smith to the Wizards to get big man, Montrezl Harrell at the deadline. This move left Buzz City hollow at the point in terms of backup depth. They had no one to lead that second unit charge as a primary ball-handler and playmaker.
Enter IT. He earned his stay by performing admirably through two 10-day contract stints with the Hornets. In his 11 games with Charlotte, Thomas is averaging 9.3 points on solid efficiency at 44.7 percent from the floor overall, including 40 percent from three on 3.6 attempts and 90.9 percent from the line.
Most of us questioned if the little guy could still perform in the big leagues in games that meant something, as his previous attempts to get back in the league failed due to him playing with poor efficiency offensively.
The former NBA All-Star will likely never reach those heights again, but the fit is a perfect match with the Hornets, as they need some extra firepower off of the pine.