INTERVIEW / Heart over height: Former NBA star Isaiah Thomas's everyday battle

By Chao Yen-hsiang, CNA staff reporter

"I don't remember the moment, but ever since I was a kid, that's the first thing I loved," two-time NBA All-Star Isaiah Thomas said of his lifelong romance with basketball.

That journey, however, unfolded against the limitations of his size in a game where height often dictates opportunity -- a reality he confronted throughout his career.

At 175 centimeters (5 feet 9 inches), Thomas is less than 2 cm taller than the average Taiwanese adult male, while NBA players during his career stood around 200 cm on average.

Compared with the NBA's average career length of less than five years, Thomas's 13-season career stands out as a rare feat for a player of his size, one that has cemented him as one of the most successful undersized players in the league since the 2010s.

Speaking on the sidelines of the NBA Rising Stars Invitational in New Taipei on Friday, where he coached young Taiwanese players, Thomas described his career as an "everyday battle" in an interview with CNA.

"There's not one particular story. It's just an everyday battle. It's an everyday uphill battle that you have to fight just because, first and foremost, you're small," Thomas said when asked about the sacrifices he made in pursuit of an NBA career.

"You got to have a lot of heart, you got to play with heart, you got to believe in yourself," he said.

Noting that basketball is "not a small man's game," Thomas said undersized players must "knock that door down and take your opportunity because it's not going to be given to you."

Even when he did not play for five or 10 games in a row, Thomas said he continued to work on his skills daily to ensure he was mentally and physically prepared.

"That's what I've done my whole life," he said.

Thomas entered the 2011 NBA draft after his junior year at the University of Washington and was selected by the Sacramento Kings with the 60th and final pick.

Recalling being drafted last, Thomas said he was disappointed not to be picked earlier, but emphasized that simply being selected meant his dream had come true.

The bottom line, he said, was to "stay ready" and "stay positive," adding that maintaining that mindset was the hardest part.

"It feels so much better when you reach the mountaintop by continuing to keep going forward," he said.

That mindset paved the way for his rise to stardom.

In his first three seasons with the Kings, his minutes per game increased from 25.5 to 34.7, while his field goal attempts rose from 8.8 to 15.2 and his scoring average climbed from 11.5 to 20.3 points.

Thomas peaked with the Boston Celtics from 2015-2017, earning back-to-back NBA All-Star selections and leading the team to the Eastern Conference finals in 2017.

During the 2016-17 season, he was dubbed "Mr. 4th Quarter" for averaging a league-leading 9.8 points in the final period.

On May 2, 2017, he scored 53 points in Game 2 of a second-round playoff series against the Washington Wizards, the most in an NBA playoff game since Allen Iverson's 55-point game in 2003.

However, Thomas's career declined afterward, likely because he played through a hip injury during that playoff run. He later accused the team's medical staff and organization of not fully disclosing the long-term risks. He last played in the NBA in 2024.

Looking back, Thomas said injuries are an unavoidable part of the game.

"I'm happy with all the things that happened in my career, good or bad. It made me who I am as a player. It made me who I am as a person," he said.

"Without the game of basketball, I probably never would have stepped foot in Taiwan or anywhere else around the world," he said. "I'm super thankful for the game."

In recent years, more former NBA players have come to play in Taiwan, including Jeremy Lin, Dwight Howard and DeMarcus Cousins.

In 2022, the Taichung Suns (now disbanded) confirmed they had reached out to Thomas, but the move did not materialize.

Asked about that process, Thomas said he was not aware of the details, as the team may have contacted his agent.

"But if anybody needs to know where I'm at, you can always reach out to me. I'm available. If the opportunity ever comes to play in Taiwan, I would love to."

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