Isaiah Thomas has become a folk hero for undersized basketball players everywhere and an avatar for overcoming perceived limitations. He’s also quickly positioning himself among the greatest players in NBA history under 5’9. His stellar play this season – his 29.4 points per game is second in the league behind only Russell Westbrook, and he’s been by far the best player in crunch time with his outrageous fourth-quarter scoring – has catapulted him into the MVP discussion.
Suns’ point guard Tyler Ulis is significantly less-heralded for his play, but like Thomas, his smaller stature (5’9) hasn’t stopped him from becoming a productive NBA player. So it was a joy to see these two fight it out for a jump ball in the second quarter of their Sunday afternoon matinee in Phoenix.
The jump ball we've all been waiting for pic.twitter.com/jZddfFTZlb
— NBA (@NBA) March 5, 2017
Just before the referee tossed it up, you could see the unmitigated delight on Thomas’ face as he relished the absurdity of the moment. The Celtics All-Star ended up winning the tip, which immediately resulted in a Jae Crowder three-pointer to give Boston a five-point lead. In the modern NBA, forwards and centers all desperately want to play like point guards, but we’d love to see more of the opposite, where smaller guys like Thomas and Ulis battle it out in the paint and test out their big-man skills.
