Little Big Man: Isaiah Thomas a full-fledged All-Star
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Isaiah Thomas isn't even average.
The Boston Celtics list their two-time All-Star point guard at 5-foot-9 even that is believed to be a bit generous - and 185 pounds. That means Thomas actually is slightly shorter and even a bit lighter than the typical male in the United States, at least based on the latest federal data that tracks such things.
So in society, he's obviously not a big guy.
But in the NBA, he's the little big man right now.
Averaging 29.9 points per game and leading Boston to the No. 2 spot in the Eastern Conference so far, Thomas is being mentioned by reigning two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors as someone worthy of consideration for the league's top individual honor this year.
"Nobody in their right mind would have thought that," Thomas said of his MVP hopes. "At one point I might not have even thought I was going to be the MVP. But now I do. I'm going to keep going. I'm not trying to play for MVP - if it happens it happens, if it doesn't it doesn't. But that's definitely a goal of mine in my career at some point."
It might come sooner than he thinks.
All-Star Media Day was Friday in New Orleans, and LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony both missed the Eastern Conference session for personal reasons. Their absences likely drove a few more people over toward the riser where Thomas took questions for a halfhour or so, though he seemed genuinely surprised when he arrived and saw plenty of reporters awaiting his arrival.
Curry wasn't. He's a Thomas fan.
"He's doing amazing things," Curry said. "I don't think that confidence (was any) different now than when he was a rookie or whatever. You go through each year, gain experience, get the right guys around you, good things happen. He's having an amazing year. It's been fun to watch."
Thomas' path is wellchr oni cl ed.
He was the 60th and last pick in the 2011 NBA draft, taken behind seven guys who have not - and probably never will - score their first NBA point. Of those selected that year, only Klay Thompson has more career points, only Kemba Walker has more career assists, and no one from the 2011 group who remains in the NBA has a better free-throw percentage than Thomas.
Put simply, a lot of teams whiffed on him coming out of Washington, some multiple times. And those snubs are a big part of what makes Thomas tick.
The Celtics could have drafted Thomas twice that night and passed, but atoned for that when they swung a three-team deal to land him. The second anniversary of that trade is Sunday, when Thomas appears in his second AllStar Game - one in which he'll be playing on a team led by his Celtics coach, Brad Stevens.