Inside The Huskies

Ex-Husky Thomas Has Another Big Night in His Basketball Comeback

He follows up his first-night G League scoring total of 40 with a 30-point outing.
Dan Raley|
Ex-Husky Isaiah Thomas takes a shot for Charlotte against Cleveland in a 2022 NBA game.
Ex-Husky Isaiah Thomas takes a shot for Charlotte against Cleveland in a 2022 NBA game. | David Richard-Imagn Images

The story keeps getting better: the former NBA star easily could call it a career, probably has all the money he ever needs to live comfortably for the rest of his life, but he chooses to chase his basketball dream as if he were a rookie and continues to put up attention-getting numbers.

On Wednesday night, Isaiah Thomas provided 30 points for the G League's Salt Lake City Stars, this after dropping 40 the day before as the former University of Washington player continues a very public quest that no one else his age with his pro basketball pedigree would consider because it's downright humbling.

Thomas, who turns 36 next week, is guided by this prevailing thought, "I'm still really good at the game. I'm going to keep playing until I lose a step or two."

While Thomas finds himself in the sprawling Mountain Time Zone metropolis of Salt Lake City as a home base, it might as well be some obscure truck stop in southern Utah.

Fans are few for his games. Media attention is almost non-existent. No wire-service photos are distributed from his outings. Any interviews posted on social media are conducted by team personnel.

Thomas relayed how he signed up for the rest of the Stars' season, joining this franchise for the second consecutive season, with certain goals in mind.

"That's obviously the ultimate plan -- is to get back to the NBA," he said. "Why I'm here is to lead, win games, have fun and do it with a smile on my face."

Depending on how it goes, maybe Hollywood will make a movie about this determined little guy someday. After all, it loves a good comeback story and rightfully could put Thomas up there with Seabiscuit and Cinderella Man.

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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