Ranking the top 5 players of the Brad Stevens Celtics era
By Ray Petree
4. Isaiah Thomas
While Isaiah Thomas’ stint with the Celtics was brief, his impact was extraordinary. When he joined the Celtics midway through the 2014-15 season, Brad Stevens’ team was struggling to find a new identity.
After losing Ray Allen in 2012, and Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Doc Rivers in 2013, the Celtics were entering a new era. The team only won 25 games in 2013-14 and were 20-33 when Isaiah Thomas arrived in Feb. 2015.
In the final 29 games of the 2014-15 season, the Celtics went 20-9 — finishing with a 40-42 record. Then, in 2015-16, the Celtics continued to improve, winning 48 games.
In 2016-17, Isaiah Thomas averaged 28.9 points (third best in the league) and led the Celtics to a record of 53-29 (best in the Eastern Conference). The Celtics returned to the Conference Finals but lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers in five games.
The height of his career came in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals when Thomas scored 53 points against John Wall and the Washington Wizards.
Unfortunately, during the Celtics' series against the Wizards, Thomas re-aggravated a lingering hip injury. Thomas appeared in the first two games of the Conference Finals but missed the rest of the postseason to prevent further injury. And in the ensuing offseason, Ainge traded Thomas to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a package deal for Kyrie Irving.
While Isaiah Thomas’ departure was acrimonious, there’s no denying that he helped establish a new standard of excellence for the Celtics.