Isaiah Thomas returned to the place that, briefly, made him an All-Star on Monday night when the Nuggets visited Boston and beat the Celtics.
Thomas has fallen out of the Nuggets rotation as he continues to try and find his rhythm after returning from his hip injury earlier in 2019, but Mike Malone gave him seven minutes off the bench in the first half since Boston is such a special place. Since his only other trip to Boston since being traded came on Paul Pierce’s jersey retirement night, Thomas finally got his long-awaited tribute video, which was handled wonderfully by the Celtics and the fans.
For the return, Thomas also had something special for Celtics fans in the form of his sneakers. Thomas wore a pair of green and gold Kobe’s that he told reporters after the game were originally made that 2016-17 playoff run and were supposed to be for the NBA Finals if they’d been able to get past the Cavaliers in the Conference Finals.
.@isaiahthomas wearing green shoes 🤔💚 pic.twitter.com/tDn6loZUJY
— NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSBoston) March 18, 2019
Thomas had saved the sneakers for his return when he’d be playing ever since, and it was a very nice touch on an emotional night for IT. He said he’d love to return to Boston at some point in his career, and has always maintained he has a soft spot for the city and its fans. Monday was a proper return for Thomas and, while this season still hasn’t gone according to plan for him, it’s still a nice step for him as he works back towards hopefully regaining his form from two seasons ago.
