Isaiah Thomas is back again in the NBA after signing a 10-day contract and making his debut with the Dallas Mavericks Wednesday night in the place where all started for him in Sacramento against the Kings.
The 32-year-old Thomas, who was drafted by the Kings in 2011, scored six points and dished out four assists off the Mavericks’ bench in the team’s 95-94 loss to Sacramento. Thomas recently signed a 10-day contract with the Lakers on December 17 and averaged 9.3 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists in four games.
The Seattle native was back home when he got the call Wednesday from the Mavericks and quickly caught got on a flight to join the team in Sacramento.
“They told me to be ready,” Thomas said. “J-Kidd and Nico(Harrison) had told me to just be myself. With every sense of the word, just be who I am and bring that to the team. I’m always ready. I didn’t know if I was going to play a lot or a little bit, but me being a professional for 11 years, I’m just accustomed to staying ready, and that’s all I did tonight.”
Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd was pleased with Thomas’ performance.
“I thought he did great,” Kidd said. “To come from home, to come and help us, put us in position to win, I thought he was really good.”
Even if he is with Dallas for a short time, the two-time All-Star thinks his experiences can help the younger players on the Mavericks.
“I’ve been in every situation possible in the NBA,” Thomas said. “I don’t know how many players in the NBA can honestly say they’ve been in every situation, whether that’s the franchise player, whether that’s the sixth-man role, whether that’s a role player off the bench or a guy that doesn’t even play. I’ve seen it all, so I’m able to give that experience back to the younger guys.”
However, Thomas entered health and safety protocols Thursday, so who knows what happens going forward, but with everything going on with COVID in the NBA, Thomas will continue to get a shot with either the Mavericks or elsewhere.
Let’s hope IT can con continue to stick around in the NBA.
