At his size, no one really expected Isaiah Thomas to be a successful basketball player. But after a stellar junior season at Washington in which Thomas averaged 16.8 points, 6.1 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game the Sacramento Kings took a chance on the speedy point guard.
The last pick of the NBA very rarely make an impact in the league with many last picks being without an NBA job within a few years. However, as is almost the case — Michael Cooper and Drazen Petrovic being some examples.
Well, from day one, Thomas showed he belonged. On a Kings team that only won 22 games that year, a 22-year old Thomas was one of the only bright spots. Averaging 11.5 half points and 4.1 assists per game while starting 37 games, and had a 28-point, 10-assist against the San Antonio Spurs. At the end of his first season, Thomas made the all-rookie second team and had already proven to be the steal of the 2011 draft.
Thomas' first step to becoming a star came in his third year with the Kings where he put the NBA notice with 20.3 points and 6.3 assists per game. However, IT's success wasn't leading to wins and the Kings organization was getting frustrated. Thomas needing the ball constantly in his hands to be effective and due to his 5-foot-8 frame, was a liability on defense.
As a result, the Kings shipped Thomas off to Phoenix in a sign and trade deal in which the Kings received a $7 million dollar trade exception and the rights to Alex Oriakhi — a player that never played in a regular season NBA game.
Hindered by a crowded backcourt that featured fellow guards Goran Dragic, Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight, Thomas' stats and role took a hit.
A year later at the 2015 trade deadline, the rebuilding Boston Celtics were looking for offensive talent to bolster their bench. The Celtics ended up trading shooting guard Marcus Thornton and a top-10 protected pick in 2016 for Thomas.
Although he technically came off the bench, Thomas arguably became Boston's best player and helped the struggling Celtics go 20-11 to finish the season and sneak into the playoffs as the eighth seed.
In his second season in Boston, Thomas became the full-time starting point guard and as a result, the scrappy Celtics improved. Thomas went back to being an elite scorer averaging 22.2 points per game.
However, his second full season with the Celtics remains the peak of IT's career. Those scrappy Celtics became a legitimate force in the eastern conference ending the season as the No. 1 seed. Thomas went from scoring guard to legit superstar as the former last pick averaged an incredible 28.9 points (third in the NBA), 5.9 assists while shooting a career high 37.9 percent from deep.
Characterized by clutch shots and explosive fourth quarters, and multiple 40 plus point games, Thomas earned the “Mr. Fourth Quarter” nickname as he led the NBA with over 10 points per game scored in the fourth quarter.
That year, Thomas battled through a hip injury as the Celtics fought their way through the first two rounds of the playoffs which was capitalized by a career-high 53-point performance against the Wizards and a 33-point game the day after his sister died in a tragic car accident.
The hip injury would come to haunt Thomas as instead of giving him a max contract the next year like the guard expected, the Celtics traded Thomas and others for Kyrie Irving.
Still recovering from his injury, Thomas struggled in his first year with the Cavs playing in only 15 games averaging 14.7 points per game on poor efficiency. Thomas' lackluster play and reported tension with Cavaliers star LeBron James were enough for Cleveland to send Thomas to the Lakers.
Unfortunately, Thomas continued to struggle in LA and it seemed like the player that was just a year prior lighting up the NBA for nearly 30 points per game was a shell of himself.
When Thomas signed a one year deal worth the veteran's minimum with the Denver Nuggets, expectations were high that Thomas could once again become an impactful NBA player. Unfortunately, Thomas hardly found any playing time on a deep Nuggets roster only appearing in 12 games for a career low 8.1 points per game in 15.1 minutes.
This past offseason, the former superstar signed another one-year deal this time with the Washington Wizards — a team that had sent backup point guard Tomas Satoransky to the Chicago Bulls and whose star point guard John Wall was recovering from an achilles injury.
Unlike in Denver, the Wizards provided IT with the opportunity to once again, make an impact. In his first game with the team Thomas scored 16 points in only 19 minutes, a game he followed up with a 17-point, 10-assist performance.
In 13 games this season, Thomas has started 10 games and averaged 12 points and 5.3 assists per game on his best field goal percentage since his breakout 2016-17 with the Celtics.
While it's clear that Thomas will likely never reach the superstar-level he did with Boston, Thomas has proven that he can still be an effective player in the league.
The lingering hip injury zapped Thomas' lightning-quick first step and it looks like he no longer has that athleticism but regardless, Thomas is once again making an imprint in the NBA — not bad for the last pick of the draft.
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