Isaiah Thomas has had it rough for the last few years. Several serious injuries have had a profound effect on his once MVP-worthy play. Fortunately, he has found his footing as a role player and veteran presence for the Charlotte Hornets. In fact, he put up 11 points in 14 minutes in Charlotte’s 129-108 blowout victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday.
In the 2016-17 season, Thomas averaged a blistering 28.9 points and 5.9 assists per game as he led the Boston Celtics to a 53-29 record, which was good enough for first place in the Eastern Conference. They even made a run all the way to the Conference Finals that season before running into the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Unfortunately, a hip injury in the Conference Finals revealed that Thomas had been playing through some nagging hip pain for multiple seasons. This virtually derailed his career as an NBA All-Star. Since then, he’s had hip surgery and has played for several other teams. He was never quite the same player again.
In all honesty, most NBA teams had long since given up on him, but after averaging 41.3 points per game in three games with the Grand Rapids Gold in late February of this year, the Hornets decided to sign Thomas to a 10-day-contract. Following that, they later signed him to a second 10-day-contract. So far, he is averaging 9.0 points per game and 1.5 rebounds per game in 13 minutes per game for the Hornets.
Thomas, 33, provides a veteran presence in the locker room, which can be especially helpful with this young Hornets roster. Although his numbers clearly don’t sit at the top of the stat sheet after every game, his massive contribution, which he provides in limited minutes, is definitely having an impact on the team. Charlotte has won their last four games, all of which Thomas has played in.
He touched on this new role in a press conference with Bally Sports Southeast.
"“All of these guys in the locker room respect who I am as a player and as a person and I respect them, so the things I say to them, they take a little different. I know I can help and I know I can impact whether I play or not.” – Isaiah Thomas"
In the past, former MVP-caliber players turned bench players have struggled to accept their role and face the reality that they are no longer the player that they once were, for whatever reason.
This is not the case with Thomas; he has seemingly been happy with his role on the Hornets and appears grateful and excited that Charlotte has given him a chance. Time will only tell if it will pay off.