Isaiah Thomas may be unimpressed with the Boston Celtics 3-3 start, but he’s 26.2 points and 6.8 assists through those six games, and he has big aspirations for his future.
“Isaiah’s got so much heart and he plays so big. Very gritty, very tough,” Garnett said during a segment with Rasheed Wallace in which the former NBA stars debated whether they would rather have Thomas or Cleveland’s Kyrie Irving taking a final shot. “It’s a point guard league. The point guard matchup is very difficult. … I love Isaiah’s heart. Your point guard, a lot of times the identity of your team starts with your point guard. Isaiah, I love his heart and how he plays.”
Informed of Garnett’s comments after Boston’s practice on Monday, Thomas was genuinely appreciative of the praise.
“I’m the 5-9 Kevin Garnett. That’s who I want to be,” said Thomas. “[Garnett’s praise] means a lot. For a guy I looked up to, who I knew I would be nothing like [in size], but just the way he prepared himself, the way he didn’t back down from anybody, and how he was so locked in. It was amazing to see that up close. For him to say that about me, that says a lot.”
This story Thomas previously told about Garnett definitely sounds like the Big Ticket. It’s nice for Thomas that he now has KG’s respect.
After Garnett announced his retirement before the season, Thomas told Boston sports radio 98.5 a hilarious story about how, during Thomas’ first game versus the Celtics as a rookie in 2012, he ran hard into one of Garnett’s patented illegal screens and barked at him about it. Thomas said Garnett responded by telling him to, ‘Shut yo little midget ass up.’
source: ESPN
