Point guard Isaiah Thomas recorded his first double-double since he was a member of the Boston Celtics in 2016, scoring 17 points and dishing out 10 assists in the Wizards’ 159-158 loss to the Rockets Wednesday night.
Thomas, who signed a one-year deal with Washington this offseason, believes the team gives him the right opportunity to succeed again in the NBA, as he told the media on Wednesday, including Hoops Rumors.
“It’s been one injury. That’s all it’s been. Like I always said, if I get the opportunity like I did in Boston, I’d do the same thing,” Thomas said. “The trades I’ve been in, I haven’t had this same opportunity. That’s the only reason that you haven’t seen me play well. I’m just going to continue to work hard, continue to do what I can to win games here. The Wizards are giving me a great opportunity and I can’t thank them enough.”
Thomas was dealt from Boston to Cleveland during the summer of 2017 in the Kyrie Irving deal. At that point, he was still recovering from a hip injury and the LeBron James-led Cavaliers shipped him to the Lakers during the season as part of the package that landed Larry Nance Jr. Thomas left Los Angeles during the 2018 offseason and found a new home in Denver — a team with a deep rotation and not much need for Thomas’ scoring skills.
Thomas missed the first two games of this season with the Wizards because of a thumb injury and the team is being cautious with his workload, limiting him to 44 minutes over the past two games. However, the Wizards are impressed with what the 30-year-old brings to the table.
“He was playing well before he got hurt six weeks ago,” said Wizards coach Scott Brooks. “I wasn’t expecting it after he missed six weeks, no. It’s hard to do. It’s almost nearly impossible. Especially playing that position, but you know he’s always had the heart of a champion and that’s never going to go away. He plays through injuries, he plays through a lot of difficult things that he’s been through but he comes down and plays hard every night.
“You know I expect him to play well all the time. That’s why we brought him in. Not only to play well, (but) to just be a good leader and a good teammate to all of our younger players.”
