Ever since he left in a stunning 2017 trade for Kyrie Irving, many Celtics fans have been clamoring for fan favorite Isaiah Thomas to make a return to Boston in some capacity. Sadly, it never really made sense or worked out with IT as a player, as his playing career in the NBA fizzled out, largely due to injuries.
He never came close to recapturing the magic from his incredible 2016-17 season in Boston, in which he led the Celtics to the top seed in the Eastern Conference and improbably finished 5th in MVP voting. In fact, since that remarkable year, Thomas has played in just 115 total games and hasn’t surpassed 40 games played in a single season, with his last action coming in 2024.
But despite the sad ending to his NBA playing career, there has been a bit of a recent happy ending, as Thomas signed with Boston this offseason as a draft scout. It’s not entirely clear how large of a role he’s playing with the team, but regardless, it’s just great for him to be part of the organization once again.
Isaiah Thomas teases a playing career overseas
While it’s only been a few months so far, it seems like Thomas may already be itching for something else, as he tweeted out on Sunday that he would like to play overseas.
“I want to hoop overseas for a year!!! I want that experience! And to cook them boys over that water 😂”
Now, there are a few ways to unpack this one. First of all, it would be super cool to see IT playing again, and if he can still do it physically, he should be able to dominate overseas and put up the kind of scoring numbers we haven’t seen from him in a long time. I wish he had done it sooner, if anything, but it’s better late than never, and if he can still play, he should take advantage of the opportunity.
Furthermore, as of now, this is nothing but a tweet. Who knows how serious Thomas is about this idea, if at all? Personally, I think it's a great idea, but it might be the kind of thing that sounds better than it actually is. For all we know, Thomas is just yapping and is happily done with playing pro ball.
If Thomas leaves to play overseas, his days as a Celtics scout could end
Second of all, it’s hard to say how this would affect his role in Boston, if at all. Could he stay on as a scout for the Celtics while playing professionally for a team in Europe? That seems unlikely, and it’s hard to imagine he’d be able to contribute much, if anything.
But also, there’s no reason to think he couldn’t keep the title or put his position on hold for a year. I’m not trying to diminish his scouting abilities, but I think he was hired more for the vibes and positive PR than anything else. As a former NBA player, I’m sure he brings value, but his greatest contribution is probably just having him around.
That’s not going to change in a year, and there’s no reason not to support him in trying to keep playing and get everything out of his body while he still can. Some kind of role with the Celtics should be waiting for him whenever he’s ready, but it’s definitely worth the wait if we get to see him cooking on a professional basketball court one more time.
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