As the 60th pick of the 2011 NBA Draft, Isaiah Thomas was not expected to be the starting point guard for the Sacramento Kings, but since mid-February that’s where he’s been. Although, the wins have not been piling up since the promotion, the playmaking ability of Thomas has been keeping the Kings competitive and gives the team hope for the future.
The Kings are so proud of their rookie that they have launched a Rookie of the Year campaign for Thomas. Using the Twitter hashtag #IsaiahROY, the Kings are hoping that a strong social media campaign will win some Thomas some votes:
Although, fan support and flashy videos may get Thomas some votes, he has a strong opponent in Cleveland guard Kyrie Irving who is essentially leading rookies in every statistical category. Thomas did win Western Conference Rookie of the Month honors in February but currently ranks seventh in scoring and fifth in assists among rookies; voters usually look at stats and although these are solid rankings, they are not near what Irving is averaging.
The Kings agree that numbers are important but have launched another social media campaign using the twitter hashtag #slxTyRoy to counter that argument:
With an upcoming documentary based on his road to the NBA (Mr. Irrelevant), and two social media campaigns to help him win Rookie of the Year, Isaiah Thomas is performing at a level that was not expected; but even if he doesn’t win the ROY, expect Thomas to be a major player in the league for years to come.
Where does Thomas rank amongst the best rookies?
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