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It’s been 710 days since Isaiah Thomas last suited up for an NBA team. Wednesday night against the Philadelphia 76ers, he may get his opportunity to end the streak with the Phoenix Suns in his first eligible game on a 10-day contract.
“I want to play a few more years in the league, so hopefully this is a setup for that,” Thomas said at shootaround Wednesday morning. “Whatever the opportunity is, I’m ready to make an impact each and every day. Whether I play or not, it’s bigger than putting the ball in the basket for me. Like, I’m able to lead — lead by example, lead by my experiences and just help in any way possible.”
At 35 years old, the 12-year NBA veteran hasn’t played in the league in nearly two years. He understands what the Suns are expecting of him, and he has no delusions of grandeur at this point in his career.
The Suns still have their 15th roster spot open, but coach Frank Vogel emphasized in practice on Tuesday that, although Thomas is a “guy that everybody loves,” this is really more of an opportunity to see where his game is currently at, since Saben Lee is running out of availability on his two-way contract.
“He’s a very well-liked, respected guy in this league, in this NBA player fraternity, but we’re gonna see where his game is at,” Vogel said. “Again, I don’t know how much he’ll play for us. He’s really here from a depth standpoint because Saben Lee only has four games left.”
But Thomas — who was last seen in a 17-game stint with the Charlotte Hornets back in 2022 — is familiar with proving people wrong. At 5-foot-9, he was always told he was too small to go pro. When he got drafted with the final pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, he embraced the doubters and played with a chip on his shoulder.
And now that he’s worked his way back into the league on a 10-day contract that doesn’t guarantee anything, he plans to stay true to what got him this far.
“I think a lot of people thought I should give up or just tap out, but I stayed down and I stayed positive,” Thomas said. “I know what I can bring. I believe in myself more than anybody else does. And I remember it was June 23, 2011, when I got drafted. I said, ‘All I ever wanted was a chance.’ Like, ‘I’ll do the rest if I get a legit opportunity.’ And I’m back in the NBA, I got an NBA jersey, and I know for a fact I’m gonna take full advantage of it and make sure this lasts as long as I possibly can make it.”
However long that is to be seen, but the chip on Thomas’ shoulder that once fueled him has given way to a new, broader perspective. The love of the game is what drives him now, and every day he’s in the gym, he still gets that same feeling he had when he was a kid.
Until that feeling fades away, he wants to continue playing at the highest level possible.
“I think [the chip] will always be there, but I don’t have anything to prove,” Thomas said. “I know who I am. I think the world knows what I bring. I’ve played the same way on each and every level no matter the circumstances, other than when I was hurt. I’m fully healthy, I’m fully ready to just help everybody in this organization make the next step. And however long I’m here, I promise y’all I’ll make a positive impact.”
Despite having to wait for yet another opportunity, Thomas stuck with his desire to pursue his dream of playing “a few more years” in the NBA. He received offers to play overseas, but waited for the chance to return to the league where he was once a dominant scorer with the Boston Celtics.
“Nothing against overseas or any other opportunity that was presented to me, but I know my worth,” Thomas said. “I know what I’m about, I know how good I am, I know the impact I can make. And once I’ve got the success I got in the NBA, it’s like, there’s no other feeling. I don’t want to chase anything else.”
Over the last four years, Thomas has played a grand total of 25 games with four different NBA franchises. He hasn’t played more than 40 games in a season since 2017, his last year in Boston. Working his way back from right hip resurfacing surgery in 2020 was yet another challenge to overcome.
“I had surgery in 2020, which changed my whole life,” Thomas said. “It changed the way I was living. Like, I wasn’t in pain no more on a day-to-day basis. I would tell you probably 10-11 months after I had surgery, I felt like myself. My legs were strong again, I had that pop that I’m used to having.”
Three years later, the odds are still stacked against Thomas making an impact on a team with playoff aspirations. Even with the Suns’ recent lack of urgency, he will be hard-pressed to earn minutes.
But Bradley Beal, who played with Thomas on the Washington Wizards for half a season in 2019-20, has seen IT’s work ethic up close. He’s a big Isaiah Thomas fan, and he believes IT’s journey back to the league is a prime example for anyone to keep pushing for their goals no matter what.
“To be able to come back now, it’s very unheard of,” Beal said. “But I commend him and I salute him. He’s always been a worker. He believes in the process, he trusts his work, and that’s just the evolution of today’s game and just the evolution of who he is. He’s always gonna be a hooper. There’s nothing that can stop him or set him back from accomplishing his goals and dreams, and he’s one that lives it out.”
As Beal noted, work ethic isn’t something you can just give to somebody. Thomas has made a habit of proving naysayers wrong, adopting a “slow grind” mentality that’s become his own clothing line. That sort of “good things come to those who wait/work” approach has served Thomas well, teaching him patience and allowing him to enjoy the journey.
Why play basketball at all if you can’t do it with a smile on your face every single day?
Now in Phoenix, the odds are stacked against him once again. He’ll likely get his opportunity on this 10-day contract, especially with Saben Lee running out of games of eligibility, but he’ll have to make quite an impression to stick around for the rest of the season.
Fortunately, that’s nothing new for IT, which may uniquely position him to take advantage of what’s ahead.
“Since the day I got drafted, my journey and my story has always been the same: Counted out, gotta believe in myself, gotta take advantage of every and any opportunity I get,” Thomas said. “It’s just been probably a different city, a different jersey, but every step of the way has kind of been the same. So this is nothing new for me. My back isn’t against the wall; this is the opportunity to show the world that what I’m about and the impact I can make each and every day.”
In terms of what he might actually provide, Thomas obviously brings shooting, scoring and ball-handling to the table. In four G League games with the Salt Lake City Stars this season, Thomas put up some impressive numbers, averaging 32.5 points and 5.3 assists per game. He also made 44.6 percent of a staggering 14.0 3-point attempts per game.
“I just know his game, and to me, it was just a matter of seeing that he’s healthy by seeing him play a few G League games,” Vogel said. “I had him a couple of years ago, we looked at him when I was with LA on a 10-day, and I just know he can play. And we just needed somebody that we trusted that could give us some minutes if we encounter some injuries during the stretch while he’s gonna be here.”
Thomas may only amount to a flier, but he believes he’s the same player that he was nearly 10 years ago, when he last played for the Suns. The only differences to him are that his basketball mind is a lot further than it was…and he maybe gets “a little more sore” after games now.
“I’m not delusional,” Thomas said. “I know I’m 35, but I don’t feel 35. I feel like I did when I was doing numbers against everybody.”
In 10 short days, he’ll have to prove it as part of this full-circle journey back to Phoenix, which Thomas claims he and his wife have always said was the best place they’d ever lived. It was a surprise when he was traded away back in 2014, and it’d be a similar surprise if the former “King of the Fourth” got many opportunities to help the Suns with their well-documented woes in the fourth quarter.
But Thomas has seen the Big 3 up close and personal before, and he understands his place on a team like this. He was on the Celtics when Devin Booker dropped 70 on them, he played with Beal in D.C., and he referred to KD as “self-explanatory.” Fitting in with Phoenix’s three superstars and making their lives easier is his main objective whenever he sees the court.
“My job would be to just make plays, make the right play, limit our turnovers since that’s been something that’s been something big for this team,” Thomas said. “I feel like I can do a really good job of setting those three guys up, making things easier. At the end of the day, if I do play, you gotta honor who I am on the court. So I think most importantly, it gives those guys — the Big 3, the main guys — more space to be able to be aggressive, to be able to see more one-on-one coverage.”
Thomas believes the modern, 3-point heavy NBA is more conducive to his playing style than it was 10 years ago. He may be a liability on defense because of his size, but even if he’s unable to make an impact or earn significant minutes, Thomas can still provide a degree of veteran leadership and positivity in the locker room.
“Transitioning through a different part of his career, where he’s trying to make a team and battle through the injuries that he’s faced through throughout his career, I think those experiences can be invaluable,” Vogel said. “And obviously, he’s a winner. So when you have a high-character guy that’s a winner, that’s well-liked, he can have a strong impact in the locker room.”
Beal in particular highlighted IT’s point guard experience as an area where he could help out.
“We all know he’s a good offensive player for sure, but I think just his leadership, his ability to be able to lead a locker room, encourage guys, give his IQ of the game, which is just super high,” Beal said. “I think he’ll definitely help me out a lot with running the point and just giving me some different viewpoints in ways that I can attack that I may not have seen before.”
Whether he shocks the world by earning rotation minutes or simply serves as a positive voice in the locker room, Isaiah Thomas is ready to embrace his return to the Phoenix Suns. No matter how long it lasts, he’s waited years for this opportunity, and even before talking with Vogel, he’s ready to make the most of it.
“He just said, ‘Stay ready,’ and I said with a smile on my face, ‘I’m always ready.'” Thomas grinned. “Obviously the goal for this team is to win a championship. So if I can be a little piece of that, if I could be a positive piece in that makeup, I’ve done my job.”
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