Isaiah Thomas (basketball)

Isaiah Jamar Thomas (born February 7, 1989) is an American former professional basketball player who is working as a scout for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is best known for playing with the Celtics from 2015 through 2017, where he was a two-time NBA All-Star and named second-team All-NBA. Quotes Nobody's tall in my family. My father is 5-7, so I knew at a young age I wouldn't be that tall. But when I was younger, I always wanted to be taller. There was a pullup bar in my mom's basement, and I would do a lot of pullups down there. My mom will tell you that I'd be on there all the time trying to stretch myself out. I always was in the weight room. My dad was a big bodybuilder and somebody who always was lifting weights and working out. He always told me, "Don't back down from anybody." I've always played with my heart, and I've always felt like I was better than the next guy. When I was young -- 10, 11, 12 years old -- my dad would take me to the gym, and I was able to play open gym basketball with grown men. Some of them would want to fight me afterward because I talk mess -- and I back it up. First off, you don't want to be showed up by someone smaller than you, and then on top of that someone younger than you. I grew up in the Gary Payton era. He was arguably the best trash-talker there was. And I watched all his games and I read all the stories about him talking trash, so I kind of wanted to be like him when I was younger. To this day, I like to talk trash, but I'm not just talking out there; I'm backing it up. And I'm not as small as you may think -- I'm stronger than most guys. I think by being strong and being as compact as I am, it's helped me take my game to another level. I mean, the things that I'm doing -- if I were 6-5 or 6-6, it would be magnified even more, talked about even more. And that's how it's been my whole career -- my whole life. I've never been given a fair shake, even to this day. I always say nothing's been given to me; I always took what I believe is mine, and I always took advantage of the opportunity that I've got. And not to put anything against the bigger guys, but for the most part, they're handed a lot. Us little guys in the gutter, we're not handed anything. We're not given the benefit of the doubt. They always overlook us. If I were taller, the season I had would be getting even more attention. For sure. There's no doubt about that. People always try to find something that I don't do well, or that the small guy doesn't do well, and put it against him. For instance, when you're smaller they always say you're a defensive liability. If somebody scores on a 6-5 guy, it's like, "Oh, that's good offense." If somebody scores on a 5-9 guy, it's like, "Oh, he's a liability; he's too small." It's always something. If I were 6-3 or 6-5, I'd be the best player in the world. No doubt about it. And that's not just me thinking that; I mean, the world would think that. People always wanted me to be somebody I wasn't, whether it be a pass-first point guard or a typical point guard, and I'm not that. I think people are just starting to accept who I am. And that's a good thing. Damon Stoudamire was one of my favorite players growing up; he was 5-10 and a left-handed guy like me, and I definitely tried to pattern my game after him. He's someone I definitely looked up to. When I was younger, my teammates and my coach called me Mighty Mouse after him. I got a Mighty Mouse tattoo because of him. Thomas: 'If people don't believe in me, I make them believers', June 23 2017 External links Category:1989 births Category:Basketball players from the United States Category:Living people Category:African Americans Category:People from Washington (state)