Isaiah Thomas Injury Update: Nuggets Guard To Make Season Debut Nearly A Year After Successful Hip Surgery

Isaiah Thomas is set to make his debut for the Denver Nuggets at home against the Sacramento Kings. Thomas is coming off a very turbulent and uncertain last couple seasons of his career.

Isaiah Thomas To Return After Injury

Thomas got recognized on the Sacramento Kings as a skilled guard who, despite his 5-foot-5 height disadvantage in a league where the average height is 6-foot-6, he still showed he can play and compete in the league. Thomas would then spend a short time on the Phoenix Suns before playing on the Boston Celtics, where his career began to blossom.

In his third season playing for the Celtics, Thomas averaged a career-high 28.2 points a game. This is when Thomas received league recognition, was considered a star if not an All-star by most, and even got himself into the discussion for regular season MVP. Thanks to his electric play style and being able to defy the odds even with his height being a major issue for him the majority of his career, Thomas won the hearts of many.

It wasn’t until the postseason Thomas would go down with major hip injury, which left the status of his future unknown. With the Celtics not knowing how healthy Thomas was, they felt pressured to make a move and traded him to the Cleveland Cavaliers for star point guard Kyrie Irving.

Still coming off that injury, Thomas didn’t return until December and only played 15 games before being traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. But once again, this trade was only meant to secure cap space as Thomas was then traded to his current destination, the Denver Nuggets.

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This proves to be a very uncertain and unsuspecting career for anyone. After playing the best season of his life, Thomas had gotten injured and then just ended up being used as trade bait. Thomas was never able to sign a big contract because of the concerns of his hip and what direction his career was headed towards.

While he has yet to play, it’s been said he’s been a big influence on the team, taking on the role of mentoring the Nuggets’ younger players and a good voice in the locker room due to his veteran experience.

Nuggets Head Coach Michael Malone commented on Thomas.

“His voice, his leadership in huddles during games in practices and in the locker room,” said Malone. “We have a relatively quiet group, and one thing I think everybody knows that’s been around Isaiah is that he’s not quiet and that’s a good thing. That’s a good thing for our team. He brings an energy and a voice and a leadership that we sorely miss.”

His teammates and former coach were both happy to see Thomas make his return against the Sacramento Kings. Rookie Michael Porter Jr reached out on Twitter, while coach Brad Stevens was quoted after the Celtics defeated the Hawks.

Thomas received a standing ovation after he checked in last night and finished the game with 8 points and 2 assists in 13 minutes of play, as the Nuggets went on to win the game.

Article by Elijah Fulton

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