(Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
Several years ago, guard Isaiah Thomas emerged as one of the more explosive scorers in the NBA, but a nagging hip injury robbed him of his ability and essentially forced him out of the league.
He last played in the NBA two seasons ago with three different teams, but at age 35, he’s apparently making another attempt to return to the league.
Per Shams Charania, Thomas will be a member of the Salt Lake City Stars of the G League, and it’s a move that could set him up to be picked up by an NBA team for the remainder of the season.
In pursuit of NBA return for stretch run, 11-year veteran Isaiah Thomas is joining the Utah Jazz’s G League affiliate Salt Lake City Stars, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. The two-time All-Star could be another guard option in marketplace.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 5, 2024
Thomas is one of a number of NBA stars who originated from the greater Seattle area, and after three seasons at the University of Washington, he was a second-round draft choice by the Sacramento Kings in 2011.
By the 2015-16 season, he was an All-Star with the Boston Celtics, and the following season, he averaged 28.9 points and 5.9 assists a game while leading a young Celtics team to the Eastern Conference Finals, which earned him MVP consideration.
But he suffered a hip injury during that series versus the Cleveland Cavaliers, and it would continue to recur over the years, and he would never average as many as 16 points a game or even appear in over 40 games in a season.
Thomas can score and facilitate, but the biggest knock against him is the fact that at 5-foot-9, he is a defensive liability, although perhaps it isn’t because of a lack of effort or desire.
But if he does well in the G League, perhaps he could be a viable insurance option for an NBA team that is playoff-bound.
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