Isaiah Thomas explained why playing for the Boston Celtics is so special by describing the fans as key to the success of the NBA champions, whom he played for between 2014-2017 and left a memorable impression.
Thomas, currently without a team after leaving the Phoenix Suns, spent three seasons in New England where he shot for averages of 19, 22.2 and 28.9 points per game as he became a fan favorite.
And although he never managed to get his hands on an NBA Finals ring, the Massachusetts natives took him under their wing and still continue to do so one decade on as he continues to feel the love, which he feels is special.
“You go to a Boston game; I mean, you go to a game away; it’s all green in there,” Thomas told the Knuckleheads podcast. “The feeling of playing for the Celtics is amazing.
“And then the love you get, the love that I get to this day, you would think I won a championship there; you would think I had a 10-year career there, like you would think my jersey is retired in them stands.
“The love that they give me and the love that I got there from day one, like you said, it’s just different.”
After leaving the Celtics, Thomas went on to play for the Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers, Denver Nuggets four other different franchises before losing his contract in the sport as his career lacked the stability he had in Boston.
Despite averaging 24.7 points per game, six assists and 2.7 rebounds in 179 NBA games for the Celtics, they traded him to acquire Kyrie Irving in 2017 and he admitted that he felt blindsided and hurt by the decision.
“What hurt me the most was that nothing was explained to me,” Thomas added of his exit. “If you tell me, ‘This could worsen; this is what you have,’ then it’s my decision to take the risk. But none of that was told to me.
“It took me three years to get back to being myself and understand what was happening. But it was a tough situation.
“It was a learning experience for me. I have a true love for Boston and everyone in that organization, but it definitely was not the right way to handle things.”
