Isaiah Thomas last suited up in a Boston Celtics uniform nine years ago, facing LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2017 Eastern Conference Finals. He spent the remainder of his career playing for eight different teams, all while never relinquishing his desire to return to Boston.
At the same time, the respect and reverence Thomas had and left behind in Boston never faded. In 2019, as a member of the Denver Nuggets, he was honored with a tribute video at TD Garden midway through the first
quarter of a regular-season matchup. This past season, as part of the organization’s “Legendary Moments” campaign, Thomas was welcomed back and sat courtside next to team owner Bill Chisholm on Dec. 19 — a night again marked by a video tribute during a game against the Miami Heat.
Now, that connection has come full circle. According to The Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach, Thomas will return to the Celtics as a professional and college scout, contributing primarily from the Seattle area, and reuniting him with the franchise where he became a two-time All-Star and MVP candidate.
Himmelsbach also reported that Thomas has already gotten started, joining team executives at the NBA Combine this week in Chicago.
Thomas, now 37 and two years removed from his last NBA appearance, has long awaited an opportunity to contribute to the Celtics once again. Before signing a 10-day contract with the Phoenix Suns in March 2024 for his final run as a player, Thomas floated the idea of signing with the Celtics, vowing to provide leadership and not needing a single minute on the floor. Boston, at the time, had an open roster spot following February’s trade deadline and before the team began exploring the buy-out market.
The front office passed on Thomas, and four months later, the Celtics won the 2024 NBA Finals.
Boston acquired Thomas in a trade with Phoenix in 2015. Then-head coach Brad Stevens didn’t start Thomas until the following season, playing him off the bench for the final 21 games of the 2014-15 season. Even on a rebuilding, 40-42 roster led by Jeff Green and Avery Bradley, the Celtics made Thomas earn his spot.
He made his first All-Star Game in his first full season with the Celtics, averaging 22.2 points in 72 starts. The following year, Thomas wrote his legacy in Boston. He earned a second straight All-Star selection, averaged a career-high 28.9 points, and finished fifth in MVP voting behind Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, and LBJ — and ahead of Stephen Curry.
In the 2017 NBA playoffs, Thomas elevated his game even further. He helped the Celtics rally from an 0–2 deficit in the first round against the Chicago Bulls, then delivered a 53-point performance in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Washington Wizards, a series Boston went on to win in seven games.
Thomas fell short in the conference finals, departing after 18 minutes in Game 2 versus Cleveland with a right hip injury that sidelined him for the remainder of the series. That was the catalyst for then-president of basketball operations Danny Ainge to trade Thomas for Kyrie Irving months later in the offseason.
That was the beginning of the end for Thomas, who in Boston was at the peak of his career and had done everything to earn a max contract.
His contributions weren’t enough to raise a banner, but they were among the organization’s most pivotal stepping stones. Just before the arrivals of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, Thomas helped make the Celtics an exciting, watch-worthy team again. They weren’t the overwhelming favorites in the East like Cleveland, but they were a fearless underdog capable of hanging with the league’s top dogs.
In April 2016 against the Warriors, Thomas scored 22 points as the Celtics ended Golden State’s 54-game home winning streak. Against the Heat in December 2016, he set a then-career high with 52 points and cemented himself as the “King of the Fourth,” scoring a franchise record 29 points in the final quarter alone.
“I’ve opened my arms to try to come back in so many ways,” Thomas told reporters four years ago as a member of the Charlotte Hornets. “It’s not even about playing and trying to pick up where I left off, I’m past that moment, but I know there’s been times where I can help in that locker room. I’m not in there every day, so I can’t speak on what’s going on. This is from the outside looking in, but I’ve felt there’s been times where Brad could make a call and give me an opportunity and it hasn’t happened.”
Thomas added: “That’s disappointing in a lot of ways because I love Boston. I love everything about the city of Boston and the people who showed me the most love is obviously from Boston.”
Over the years, the team has kept its doors wide open to Celtics of the past. Paul Pierce is a frequent visitor at practices and a regular presence at games. Sam Cassell and Phil Pressey are members of Joe Mazzulla’s coaching staff. Rajon Rondo made a visit three years ago after receiving an invite from Mazzulla, as did former Celtics assistant coach Tom Thibodeau just before Opening Night this past season.
During his run with the Celtics, Thomas wasn’t surrounded by a star-studded cast — and it still didn’t matter. At 5-foot-9, he consistently overcame physical limitations, just as he did in Boston, where he helped turn a post–Big Three rebuild into immediate gratification before handing the reins to Tatum and Brown.
In the history book of Celtics basketball, Thomas has a chapter of his own. It’s arguably the most sentimental, making a reunion long overdue for one of the franchise’s most beloved all-time legends.
