Doubted. Ignored. Underdog. Destroyer. All-star. 60th pick. Isaiah Thomas has been all these things and has been through a lot through life, but he kept grinding. The point where he is at shows he never gave up his mentality. 

Isaiah Thomas was always told he couldn’t achieve higher. From middle school to high school, it wouldn’t let up. Not only did he not listen to the outside noise, but he also flourished through it all. He earned a full-ride scholarship to the University of Washington, a Division I school.  Fast forwarding to the Pac-10 title game, he delivered in the biggest moment of his college career.  

The Arizona Wildcats vs. The Washington Huskies. The winner of this game earns a trip to the NCAA Tournament. The loser goes home.  With 14 seconds left, Isaiah brought the ball up to frontcourt and let the time wind down.  With one second remaining, Isaiah pulled up to shoot and the ball hit the net as the buzzer sounded. Pure joy, pure pandemonium.  

Following that terrific performance, Isaiah Thomas was declared for the 2011 NBA Draft.  He was selected with the 60th pick by the Sacramento Kings. Being picked last didn’t really mean much to Isaiah, as this was a common occurrence throughout his whole life.  

He averaged double digits for the Kings but after three good years with them he ended up getting traded to the Phoenix Suns. He was with the Suns for one year then traded to the Boston Celtics.  

He led the Celtics to two playoff appearances, became a two-time all-star, and came in fifth in MVP voting in his final year with the team. He averaged 29.8 points during 2016–2017 and helped the Celtics reach the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2010.  

He had success in his life but still had to deal with devastation. Going through the death of his sister, he still put 53 points against the Wizards in the Eastern conference semi-finals.  I can only imagine what he was feeling at that moment. Losing a loved one is an incredibility difficult thing to go through and my prayers are with him and his family. But despite everything he still managed to be successful. 

Another hardship he faced was that he unfortunately injured his hip and ended up getting traded again to the Cleveland Cavaliers. He was there for a year and didn’t play much in Cleveland and then got traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. 

The Injury bug bit him again as the hip injury came back and limited him to 17 games.  He was then traded to the Denver Nuggets where he didn’t play at all.  

Next, he went to the Washington Wizards where he played decent, but he was not the Isaiah Thomas we were accustomed to seeing. Everyone who has watched him play knows how talented he is. He is one of the best players when he is healthy. Don’t take my word for it, check it out for yourself on YouTube and you’ll be amazed at what you’ll see. At this current moment, he is a free agent. I hope he’ll come back stronger than ever. He has been counted out before; he’s going to prove everyone wrong again.