Isaiah Thomas is a fearless and relentless competitor. So much so, in fact, that the diminutive Boston Celtics guard hasn’t found a permanent NBA home despite emerging as one of the game’s most productive bench scorers.
And while we’re pretty sure Thomas’ inability to stick with one team has more to do with on-court and locker room fit than anything else, there perhaps exists another reason, too. Maybe the Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns were turned off by the 26 year old’s personal hygiene?
During a close game in his time at the University of Washington, Thomas reportedly took a desperate bathroom break – on the sideline, into a towel. Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe has the details:
In Thomas’s junior year, Washington was in a close game at Washington State. There was a late timeout and Thomas needed to use the bathroom, but he worried that if he left the game he might not return in time. So he asked for a towel and told his teammates to encircle him.
“He put the towel in his shorts and peed on the bench, because he didn’t want to check out,” said Chillious, who became an assistant at Washington. “That was a guy who wanted to compete.”
So that’s why the former Husky was the 60th pick in the 2013 NBA draft. Professionals are too fancy for a very public display of sanitation, right?
This isn’t the first time we’ve heard of a player resorting to such a time-saving tactic, by the way. Kansas State’s Bill Walker, now a member of the Miami Heat who goes by Henry, made a similarly bold decision in 2008.
We don’t have video of Thomas’ sideline relief, fortunately, so will have to take the story at its word. But an on-court piss certainly fits the narrative of his “compete at all costs” approach to the game.
And while that might rub some the wrong way, Thomas is obviously unconcerned by his potentially contentious demeanor – just as he was the spread of germs years ago.
[Boston Globe] [Video via 2008-2009 Royal Purple Yearbook]
