BOSTON — The Boston Celtics should have an Isaiah Thomas night.
Not a number retiring, just a night, a chance to say thank you and offer a little closure to a fun former Celtic.
As he sat on the stage at The Tradition on Tuesday in the building and city he never wanted to leave, there was still an abundant warmth between Thomas and Boston fans.
“It feels like I was here for 10 years,” Thomas said. “It feels like I won multiple championships and I was only here for two-and-a-half years.”
Boston loves lots of athletes who have never won championships here — Ted Williams, John Hannah, Ray Bourque, Stanley Morgan, Dwight Evans and Fred Lynn, who was also honored Tuesday. But because Boston has won so many NBA championships, nearly every great Celtics player is connected to at least one of the franchise’s 18 banners hanging above.
Thomas was trying to add himself to that list when he got traded.
His presence on Tuesday was also a reminder that his brief but unique tenure as a Celtic never really had the proper sendoff.
His tribute video, which was originally scheduled to be shown at his first game back in Boston as a Cavalier, became controversial when it fell on the same night as Paul Pierce’s number being retired. And then Thomas got traded, starting a path where he spent his last six seasons as a nomad.
They finally played the video on March 18, 2019 in the Garden, during one of the 12 games Thomas played in for the Nuggets. He played just under seven minutes that night, didn’t make a shot and didn’t get off the bench in the second half. The King of the Fourth Quarter didn’t even play in the third.
That night was more sad than celebratory.
Thomas deserved better from fate. He went from unlikely star to forgotten journeyman because he tried to play through a hip injury (a femoral-acetabular impingement with a labral tear) to keep a magical Celtics season going. Life is supposed to reward that sort of selflessness. Instead, it derailed him.
Maybe if he’d shut it down then, he’d still be playing now. He’s only 36.
But of course, he played. Guards who are 5-foot-9 don’t become NBA stars by taking the safe path.
He was dazzling in the first two rounds against Chicago and Washington that year before re-aggravating the injury against Cleveland. He was never the same again.
Even if Thomas has been healthy, trading him for Kyrie Irving would have made sense when the Celtics did it. This was before Irving’s team-disrupting narcissism had been fully realized. When they made the move, Irving was a young, rising superstar, and those aren’t easy to get.
But fans were sad to see Thomas go and got even more so the more troublesome Irving became.
So why not bring Thomas back for one night? Pick a game in January or February. Introduce him before tipoff. At halftime, the team can show a highlight video and present him with a ball and a piece of the parquet, officially welcoming him to the team’s alumni.
The Celtics get to sell some merchandise. The fans get to break out their I.T. jerseys for one more night and Thomas gets some overdue appreciation.
Outtakes from a busy week...
Speaking of the Sports Museum
This is going to sound self-serving given my job, but the Sports Museum should consider honoring a few of the city’s iconic media members at future editions of The Tradition.
People like Peter Gammons, Bob Ryan, Joe Castiglione, Jackie MacMullen and Bob Lobel shaped how New England fans have interacted with our teams for decades. They’re part of the fabric of sports in the region and would be worthy honorees.
Stephen A. Smith is a self-obsessed clown
Stephen A. Smith thought he was defending Cam Newton and landing a shot at Drake Maye at the same time.
In reality, he exposed himself as out of touch and narcissistic, although, in his defense, everybody knew that already.
Quick refresher on this week’s verbal pie fight.
Cam Newton called Drake Maye and the Patriots’ success this season “fool’s gold” and doubled down on that assessment.
Maye, as a way of saying he tunes out all the talk swirling around the teams success said:
“I don’t even know what show he’s on,” on his weekly WEEI appearance. “I think they get paid to make remarks and make certain comments. So, I just worry about what people in our organization think, and worry about we think and what my teammates think. People are going to have different opinions. I’m just going out there on Sunday and worrying about ourselves.”
This was silly to begin with. And then Stephen A. Smith waded in.
“He’s also a liar. He’s also a liar. First of all, it’s not to brag. Listen, ‘Pardon the Interruption’ is the No. 1 show on ESPN, spanning 20-plus. ‘First Take’ is the No. 1 morning show 13 years and counting. April will be 14 years,” Smith said. “Don’t tell me you’re an athlete and you don’t know that. Don’t tell you you’re an athlete and you don’t know that Cam Newton is on this show. You’re lying.”
For starters, Stephen A. doesn’t realize that the rest of us don’t think about or pay attention to him nearly as much as he fantasizes that we do.
But Drake Maye is 23 years old. There’s a really good chance he doesn’t have cable. Most cord cutters don’t know if Cam Newton is on the show where Stephen A. acts perfomatively angry or the one where Mike Greenburg talks too much about the Jets. And they don’t care.
He also spends most weekdays at the Patriots facility, where they don’t sit around watching self-obsessed gasbags shouting at each other.
History will determine whether the Patriots are, in fact, fool’s gold. But the verdict is already in on Stephen A., who is simply a fool.
Real Jeopardy! Clue
Sports clues from actual editions of America’s favorite quiz show. As always, mind the date
CATEGORY: WE HOLD THESE TRUTHS $800:
Date: March 26, 2019
The bird in Twitter’s logo has this 5-letter name, just like a Celtics legend
— Answer below
The Top 5
The Top 5 Cities to Call the Athletics their own
5 — Oakland
4 — Sacramento
3 — Las Vegas
2 — Kansas City
1 — Philadelphia
Today in Boston Sports History
Nov. 21
1972 — Carlton Fisk wins AL Rookie of Year.
Lightning round
I was among those who thought the Patriots missed out badly when they won their final game last season, costing them the chance to draft Abdul Carter. After he slept through a Giants walkthrough last week, it’s fair to wonder if he might be trouble. Anybody can make a mistake, but it’ll be interesting to see what he learns from it.
Who would win a decathlon between Ceddanne Rafaela and Christian Gonzalez? It feels like it would be pretty close doesn’t it.
Prediction: Westborough (1-9) upsets Algonquin (3-7) on Thanksgiving.
Winning on Sunday might be enough to assure the Patriots a playoff berth. Winning two more certainly would.
I’m officially hoping Scotland ends up in Foxborough for the World Cup. Scotland fans are fun.
Real Jeopardy! Question:
Who is Larry?
Finally...
Happy National Substitute Teachers Day to those who celebrate.
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