After two long years, Isaiah Thomas has finally earned an NBA spot again. Thomas agreed to a 10-day contract with the Phoenix Suns on Saturday, according to Shams Charania. Thomas last played in the NBA during the 2021-22 season with the Charlotte Hornets.
Thomas, now 35 years old, recently started playing professionally again with the Salt Lake City Stars in the G League. He put up huge numbers, scoring at least 30 points in all four of his games, while averaging 32.5 points and 5.3 assists. Most notably, he went 25-of-56 (44.6%) from 3-point land.
While Thomas is more of a scorer than a playmaker, he is an actual point guard, which is something the Suns have lacked all season long. Furthermore, he remains a knock-down shooter from the perimeter, and the Suns are 26th in the league in 3-point attempts per game (32). As a back-up guard who can run an offense and space the floor, Thomas could still be a helpful player down the stretch.
Regardless of how much he plays, or how long his return lasts, it's a testament to Thomas' work ethic and mindset that he's gotten another shot. It would have been easy for him to look for one last payday overseas or simply walk away from the game at this point, but he refused to do so.
"I just love this shit too much," Thomas explained in an interview with The Athletic earlier this month. But most of all, he kept going for his kids.
"I don't want them to hit a wall in life and give up," Thomas said. "They're really seeing me and watching my every move right now, so it's like even if I wanted to, I couldn't give up. I've got a few more years of this at least. I'm going to chase everything that I possibly can, give the game everything I possibly can. And I know, even if it don't have to do with sports [but] just life in general, it's helping my kids and it's going to help another kid that's going through some real things that they can't control. That's the most important thing. I know I'm helping my kids, but if I can help one person with what they're going through, that's my job. And I've done it."
Thomas' frequent social media posts that verged on begging for a job became a source of amusement over the past few years, but his desire to get back to the highest level and "never-give-up mentality" was admirable at the same time.
