Isaiah Thomas ready for new season : 'I'm going to get back to a level that I was playing at'
Isaiah Thomas hasn’t played a full NBA season since 2016, but he’s hoping that with a full offseason of training he can get back to where he once was.
"Nobody knew what to expect with me coming off hip surgery last year, and two summers of rehab," Thomas told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. "Now I can go back to being a gym rat this summer, work on my game again and build my body back up — my muscle mass, my leg strength — all like I had going into the 2017 season."
Thomas spent the majority of the 2018-19 season rehabbing from hip surgery as a member of the Denver Nuggets. He returned before the All-Star break in February and played in parts of 12 games in limited minutes.
The season before that, Thomas split time between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers after he was traded from the Boston Celtics in the deal that sent Kyrie Irving to Boston and then to the Lakers in a separate deal.
In his last full season, he averaged 28.9 points, 5.9 assists and 2.7 rebounds en route to an All-Star nomination and All-NBA second-team selection leading Thomas to hope for a long-term contract.
A hip injury ended his postseason run with the Celtics that season, his hopes for a large-scale contract and has kept him from returning to his old self since.
‘Denver allowed me to get back to 100 percent.’
Thomas credits the $2 million offseason deal he signed with the Nuggets for helping him get back to where he once was.
"Denver allowed me to take really as much time as I needed, to get back to 100 percent health," Thomas said.
He was hopeful to have played more, but with the Nuggets in the middle of a playoff chase it was hard to slot him in, something he recognizes. Instead, he contributed as a leader to one of the youngest teams in NBA playoff history.
“When I look at it from the outside, I understood it," Thomas said. "I missed 50 games, the team was having a hell of a season, and it wasn't easy to just squeeze me in there when so many guys were playing so well. They didn't want to mess up what they had going. I understood it."
Nuggets president of basketball operations Tim Connelly took note of Thomas’ voice and veteran presence calling it “invaluable.”
He told ESPN, “I'm sure it was frustrating for him not playing as much as he hoped, but he never allowed that frustration to negatively impact his approach. We wouldn't have had the success we had this year without him."
While Thomas will likely fail to see the long-term deal he had hoped for a couple of years ago, he’s nonetheless excited to start with a new team and go back to being the player of old.
"I'm going to get back to a level that I was playing at," Thomas said. "I'm excited to show what I can do again."
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