Hardwood Houdini
Fansided

Ex-Boston Celtics MVP candidate sends confident message on G-League return after spectacular debut with new team

By Andrew Hughes

Mar 27, 2022; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard Isaiah Thomas (4) drives to the
Mar 27, 2022; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard Isaiah Thomas (4) drives to the / Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
facebooktwitterreddit

Former Boston Celtics MVP candidate Isaiah Thomas sounded supremely confident, as he should, after scoring 32 points in his debut for the G-League's Salt Lake City Stars; a 127-116 win over the Texas Legends.

"Once my legs and rhythm come back these are easily 45-50pt games with the WIN! SLOW GRIND," Thomas tweeted.

Thomas had responded to a tweet from Ball Don't Stop that warned the league about Thomas getting his legs back underneath him.

"Isaiah Thomas dropped 32 in his first game back in two years," BDS prefaced before saying, "His dedication to the sport is pure. Wait til he gets his timing and legs all the way back."

This was Thomas's second foray into the G-League after appearing in four games for the Grand Rapids Gold in 2021-22. Per NBA.com, Thomas averaged 41.5 PPG, 4.3 RPG and 6.8 APG for the Gold, including a 42-point performance in his G League debut on Dec. 15, 2021

Danny Ainge and Isaiah Thomas over fallout from infamous 2017 Boston Celtics trade

Thomas playing professional basketball in the year 2024 is something that can be credited to Danny Ainge -- the same general manager who dealt IT from the Celtics in one of the least popular trades in Boston sports history considering it brought two maddening, and ultimately regressive, years of Kyrie Irving.

Of course, Ainge was just doing his job and trying to make his team better. And to his credit, the Cs made it to within one game of the Finals in 2018 after being gentlemen's swept the year prior. But the damage was done, culminating in a miserable 2018-19 season that is ripped by players to this day.

Ainge has offered the olive branch with his new team, the Utah Jazz, giving Thomas another chance at making it back to the league. And IT certainly seized it based on his G-League debut.

The hurt of that trade may never go away, but it's nice to see Ainge and Thomas come to a handshake agreement on keeping the latter's NBA dream alive.

Home/Celtics News