Isaiah Thomas wants to join Washington basketball’s coaching staff

Washington basketball legend Isaiah Thomas has set a goal to join UW’s coaching staff.

If Danny Sprinkle is looking for an addition to his coaching staff over the next few seasons, he might not need to look very far. On Tuesday afternoon, Washington Huskies legend Isaiah Thomas set a goal for the next step in his basketball career, as a coach at his alma mater.

In an X (formerly Twitter) post, Thomas called his alma mater the “best school in the world” and went on to say that within the next five years, he’ll be on staff at the university.

Sprinkle has already shown his willingness to add former players to his coaching staff, hiring former UW guard Abdul Gaddy as his director of player development. Thomas, who seems destined for a role on the bench at some point in his future, would be an exciting addition to the staff as both a coach and recruiter.

Thomas is one of three players who have had his number retired by the program when his iconic No. 2 was raised to the rafters in 2018, joining Brandon Roy and Bob Houbregs.

Over his three years on Montlake, he averaged 16.4 points, 4 assists, and 3.5 rebounds per game while winning Pac-10 Freshman of the Year along with being named a Freshman All-American in 2009. He also earned a spot on the All-Pac-10 First Team for the next two seasons, as well as an AP All-America Honorable Mention in 2011. He’s also one of just four Huskies to earn all-conference honors three times.

As a recruiter, the Tacoma native is a local legend who has spent 14 seasons in the NBA and might not have much trouble convincing recruits to learn from him at Washington. Over his impressive career after being the very last pick in the 2011 NBA draft, he has averaged 17.5 points and 4.8 assists per game while playing for 10 teams.

He had his most success with the Boston Celtics, where he was honored as an All-Star in both 2016 and 2017. During the 2017 season, he was also named to the All-NBA second team.

If Thomas ends up back at Washington at any point down the line, he could become a vital part of Sprinkle’s staff.