Isaiah Thomas made his first trip back to the TD Garden since being traded by the Celtics to the Cavaliers on Wednesday night, but the All-Star point guard was not in the lineup for Cleveland.
Thomas made his season debut for the Cavs on Tuesday night at home against the Blazers with an impressive 17-point showing in a win, but being that he’s just returning from his hip injury he won’t be playing any back-to-backs. Thus, he was held out of the lineup against Boston despite it being his emotional return to the city.
Because he wasn’t playing, Thomas requested that the Celtics hold off on any tribute video for him until he’s able to play in a game against them. The Celtics obliged, and Thomas will likely get honored by the team when the Cavs return to town on Feb. 11. However, despite the lack of a formal tribute video, the Celtics still found a way to let the crowd give Thomas an ovation when they showed him on the jumbotron between the first and second quarter.
The Celtics showed IT on the jumbotron between quarters, and the Boston crowd gave him a standing O. 👏 pic.twitter.com/ZaNrRvD4Af
— ESPN (@espn) January 4, 2018
It was a nice moment, and surely one Thomas appreciated as he acknowledged the cheers. He’ll get a chance to be properly honored by the team in a month, but it was nice (and smart) of the Celtics to let the fans in attendance (who some probably bought tickets partially for Thomas’ return) offer him some vocal appreciation for what he did while in Boston.
The appreciation and love between Thomas and the city of Boston never wavered after his trade, as he made it clear on multiple occasions that he was never happier in his career than while a member of the Celtics and feeling the love from their fans. The only hard feelings were towards Danny Ainge, but Thomas now insists they’re “good” as well.
