Isaiah Thomas; The Bridge Between Boston Celtics Era's
The Celtics had been knocking on the door for years before finally breaking through in June 2024 with an NBA title captured against the Dallas Mavericks. Six trips to the conference finals and two to the NBA Finals since 2017 finally culminated in Boston's ultimate accomplishment: an 18th championship banner.
It is crazy to think that Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown will enter years eight and nine this upcoming season. It seems like yesterday that they were the underdogs against LeBron and the 2018 Cavs, who they took to Game 7 in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Tatum and Brown have deservingly become legends in Boston for delivering Banner 18 to the city. They will forever be able to look up in the rafters inside TD Garden to see the piece of history they raised together in 2024, hanging among other legendary Celtics teams.
The same cannot be said for every player who helped Boston return to the mountaintop. The crux of the rebuild following the Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen era in Boston came in 2013 with a trade between the Celtics and Brooklyn Nets. Boston officially entered rebuild mode when they dealt their aging stars Pierce and Garnett to Brooklyn for a boatload of draft picks. Two of the draft picks they received in the trade would eventually turn into Tatum and Brown.
From the time of that franchise-altering trade to Tatum and Brown hoisting the Larry O'Brien trophy, countless players have played for the Celtics that in some way helped the Celtics get back to contention. Some players will be remembered as fan favorites by die-hard fans, and some will fade into history books as the years pass. Isaiah Thomas was one player who helped kickstart the Celtics’ heart back into a rhythm following the rebuild.
The Little Guy
Isaiah Thomas wore his heart on his sleeve when he arrived in Boston. Still looking for a place in the league where he could show his all, Thomas was dealt to the Celtics in a midseason trade from the Phoenix Suns during the2014-25 season. Thomas, a 5'9" guard, was not supposed to kickstart the rebuild like he did. Danny Ainge could not have foreseen Thomas's impact on the franchise and city.
Isaiah Thomas helped convince Celtics fans that they were back in the fight. After a few years of hoping for draft picks to pan out, Thomas gave the city a jolt of energy as he provided a reason to tune into Celtics games that season to see what he might do on any given night. Jaylen Brown was still just a rookie by Isaiah’s final season in Boston, and Jayson Tatum was a freshman at Duke. While Boston’s stars of the future developed, Isaiah Thomas kicked the Celtics into high gear.
Nicknamed “The Little Guy” by legendary Celtic player, coach, and announcer Tommy Heinsohn, Thomas quickly became a fan favorite in Boston. He loved to fire up the crowd after a big play by waving his arms over his head or tapping the imaginary watch on his wrist, signifying that it was 4th quarter Isaiah time. Thomas scored the most points in the 4th quarter during the 2016-17 NBA season, his 684 points (9.8 per game) were just three above the eventual MVP, Russell Westbrook
Bouncing around the league his first few years, all Thomas wanted was an opportunity. He had spent time in Sacramento and Phoenix before winding up in Boston but could only get on the court in complementary roles. When he was officially given the keys to the Celtics’ offense, he showed his leadership, toughness, and a burning desire to win as he led a spunky, rebuilding Boston squad far beyond their expectations.
Isaiah would lead Boston to the first of six Eastern Conference Finals appearances in the next eight seasons. At the time, he and players like Marcus Smart and Al Horford were key pieces; as a rookie, Jaylen Brown showed flashes in limited playing time in 2016-17. Even after Isaiah had been dealt away from Boston, those pieces and that experience helped future iterations of the Celtics.
Believe In Boston
Upon arriving in 2015, Isaiah Thomas came off the bench for Boston and would not start in what was a forgettable year for the Celtics. The next season, Thomas started 79 out of 82 games for Boston, averaging 22 points and six assists, leading his team to a 5-seed in the playoffs. Boston would lose in the first round to the Atlanta Hawks in six games. The 2016-17 season, however, was when Isaiah took his game to a whole other level.
Thomas averaged 28.9 points per game in 2017 as a 5'9" point guard! He had such a fluid game, able to get to his spots on the court wherever they may be. He hit big shots for Boston all season long and was dubbed "The King In The Fourth" for his fourth-quarter scoring prowess. Thomas was a deadeye shooter and could get his jumper off in an instant.
He led Boston to the first seed in the Eastern Conference and finished 5th in MVP voting that season. It was a remarkable season for someone his size to put up the stats he did when he was the only true scoring threat for Boston.
Marcus Smart and Terry Rozier were young and upcoming but not yet ready to be key cogs of an offense. Avery Bradley and Jae Crowder could be counted on for an open three, but the player who was either scoring or playmaking most of the time was Isaiah Thomas. Al Horford, likewise, was a grizzled veteran who had been in big games before but wasn't a score-first player. Reaching the Eastern Conference Finals with the Celtics' roster was truly a feat.
Unfortunately for Boston, belief can only get a team so far when they are outmatched by talent. The Celtics avoided an embarrassing upset in the first round, dropping the first two games at home but then winning four straight against the Chicago Bulls, who were without Rajon Rondo after the first two games. Boston then defeated the Wizards in a back-and-forth, emotional seven-game series.
That belief would be tested in the next round, as Boston was set to host LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and the Cleveland Cavaliers. This was the moment Celtics fans had been dreading all season. For as amazing a season as Isaiah Thomas had had, Boston was still an overachieving group based solely on their roster construction. Other than Thomas, there wasn’t another volume scorer who would strike fear into defenses, especially in the playoffs.
Cleveland tore Boston apart at home, losing the first two games by an average of 28.5 points. To make matters worse, Thomas would leave Game 2 with a hip injury that would end an incredible season for him.
The Isaiah Thomas-led Celtics teams were never likely to make it out of the East, with LeBron James looming. Boston already had a young and experienced core as a result, however, and was adding rookie Jayson Tatum to the mix in 2017.
Tatum’s effectiveness in his first postseason, combined with teammates who already had playoff experience, paid dividends for the Celtics in 2017-18, especially once they were without Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward for the playoff push. Al Horford had been through many playoff runs with the Atlanta Hawks and Isaiah Thomas and Boston the previous year. Marcus Smart and Terry Rozier stepped into bigger roles at the guard spot, and Jaylen Brown showed he was ready for the moment in year two.
Of course, not all this growth directly results from Isaiah Thomas’s time in Boston and the Celtics’ first of six Eastern Conference Finals run in eight years in 2016-17, but it certainly could have sped things up for Boston. If the Celtics had never traded for Isaiah in 2015, they might’ve had a more traditional rebuild around Brown and Tatum. Instead, Isaiah had an MVP-level season in 2017 and had the Celtics four wins away from the NBA Finals.
If anything, Isaiah helped set the expectations for a budding Brown and Tatum, whom he never got to play alongside. Isaiah helped refocus the Celtics on contending. He knew Boston was all about winning and gave his blood, sweat, and tears for the city.
Tatum and Brown have seen from a young age the love the city of Boston has for its teams, and it’s only magnified with playoff success. This is the precedent that Isaiah Thomas helped return to the Celtics.
Heart Of A Champion
If there was anyone who would deserve an honorary championship ring from the 2024 team, it would be Isaiah Thomas. He would never let his team say die, and if scoring was what they needed, Thomas would provide it.
At a time when the Celtics were low point in the city of Boston, Isaiah Thomas provided a jolt of energy to the team that had players and fans alike believing. Was this 5’9” point guard going to lead the Celtics to the promised land? As special as he was, that might’ve seemed far-fetched for fans, but the results were undeniable.
Isaiah led Boston to the first seed in the East in 2016-17 as the Celtics won 53 games. He had countless big games during the regular season in which he willed Boston to a win. He started the season a bit slow scoring-wise, but Thomas was off and running when the calendar switched to 2017. He scored 32.9 points per game in January, on his way to putting up 28.9 on the year for Boston and coming 5th in MVP voting.
A classic Isaiah game came in late December against the Heat inside TD Garden. Trailing most of the game, Thomas put the Celtics on his back and scored 29 points in the 4th quarter to finish the game with 52 points. He hit a three from downtown with the shot clock trickling down to give Boston a late lead, causing Celtics announcer Tommy Heinsohn to lose his mind yelling in celebration.
So many big moments from such a short time in Boston for Isaiah Thomas. After dropping the first two playoff games in the first round to the Chicago Bulls in 2017, Thomas and the Celtics won the next four straight. They advanced to play the Washington Wizards in the second round and were underdogs despite owning the top seed in the East.
Isaiah carved Washington up, scoring 33 points in the Game 1 win and 53 in an overtime Game 2 win with a heavy heart. His sister, Chyna Thomas, had tragically passed away in a car accident in the days leading up to the NBA playoffs. Isaiah dedicated his iconic Game 2 performance to her, which landed on his late sister’s birthday.
"It felt like somebody was there with me. When I got in the zone later in the game, it felt like I was in the YMCA with my sister when I was a kid," Thomas said postgame.
Thomas poured his heart out for the city of Boston, and the fans responded with theirs. Even though he was not able to bring the Larry O'Brien trophy back to the city, Celtics fans will always be thankful for Thomas and the heart he played with.
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