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How Cool is Isaiah Thomas?

By C.J Maffris

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There’s something special about an NBA player whose as tall as the general public, and can actually perform well. How can any NBA fan not like Boston Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas? He can give hope to anyone who isn’t over six feet to play professional basketball. He shows that if you have the necessary skills, anyone can play in the league. He can score, he can dribble-penetrate in heavily guarded areas, and plays the pick-and-roll as good as any 6’4 or taller point guard in the league. Thomas has been able to to gain a huge following beginning with his career in Washington and it’s only growing as he continues to play at a high level.

Besides being named after a Hall-of-Fame point guard (great story by the way), Thomas’ legend grew thanks to his big time performances in college. Even though he was on a team with Quincy Pondexter and Abdul Gaddy (who had A LOT of hype as an incoming freshmen), Thomas shined  for those Washington teams. Pondexter received a lot of the credit (which was warranted), but Thomas had a better scoring touch than any of his peers. Sadly Washington never made a Final Four appearance, yet experts knew that Thomas had talent and great potential.

However, due to Thomas’ age and height he wasn’t drafted till the sixtieth pick (Mr. Irrelevant) by Sacramento. Thomas had to try and earn playing time from BYU star Jimmer Fredette who was selected by the Kings in the first round. Thanks to hard work, Thomas was out-performing Fredette and was looked at as the new point guard for Sacramento.

Talk about a story of starting from the bottom. A second-round pick who no one thought could make it on an NBA team, now being looked at as a starter. That to me is a great inspirational story. So after signing elsewhere (Phoenix), and getting traded (Boston), it seems that Thomas now has a bigger audience who notices his abilities and skills. He could become a selling point for Danny Ainge to use to draw in new free agents in the future.

Ever since the Celtics were eliminated by Cleveland, Thomas has been in the public eye a lot. He was able to make an appearance on ESPN’s “money-making” show First Take during the NBA Finals. Plus there have been a few articles about how active Thomas has been on Twitter. It was enjoyable as a Celtics fan to see Thomas get some national attention after the big Brooklyn trade that showed a rebuild was on the way.

Thomas sounded intelligent on television and it looked as if he was having fun with the on-air personalities. Not to mention he gave hope to some Celtics fans about free agency. Thomas later tweeted out to Kevin Love and LaMarcus Aldridge, trying to convince them to join him in Boston. While nothing happened for Boston, it was still fun that Thomas was trying. He seems to really love this team and area, and the fans have shown how much he’s appreciated.

Now a video has surfaced where Thomas plays pick-up basketball with Flyod Mayweather. Talk about being popular! While I am not a fan of Mayweather in the realm of boxing (and real life), you cannot deny the kind of popularity the boxer can bring to a person. It looks as if Thomas is becoming more of a public figure, and will get more popular to casual fans. Any publicity for the Celtics on a national stage can help the rebuild process. As crazy as that sounds, I hope to see Thomas end up on more pop culture platforms, when he has the time. Plus it looks like Thomas is having the most fun with all of the appearances he’s made.

So I ask again, how cool is Isaiah Thomas right now? Not only does he get to play pick-up basketball with one of the richest men in the world, but he gets to appear on nationally televised shows. Plus he is able to play the game of basketball for a living. He’s living a charmed life and I for one hope he stays in Boston. Thomas should try to build a brand in “The Hub” and he might be noticed as the BIGGEST little-guy in the NBA.

C.J Maffris is a writer for Hardwoodhoudini.com. He wishes he could play pick-up basketball with fellow writers he works with. Debate all things NBA with him on Twitter @SeaJayMaffris

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