Former Boston Celtics fan favorite Isaiah Thomas might just have his swagger back.
Per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the former Celtics point guard has had a hip reshaping procedure, and five months on, IT is reporting that his full range of motion has returned to the hip he damaged in 2017.
That hip injury, sustained playing for the Celtics and exacerbated when Thomas tried to play through it in the postseason, ultimately forced his trade by the front office, in turn setting the wheels in motion for Kyrie Irving’s tenure with the team.
For the Washington product, his recovery couldn’t be more dramatic.
Isaiah Thomas had a hip resurfacing procedure five months ago: “It's like night and day for me," Thomas tells ESPN. "There's no more pain. I've got my full range of motion. For three years, I was trying to play the best players in the world on one leg.” https://t.co/FjuilQoZbu
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 5, 2020
“”It’s like night and day for me,” shared IT.
“There’s no more pain. I’ve got my full range of motion. For three years, I was trying to play the best players in the world on one leg. I needed help from my kids to put my socks on in the morning. Now, I can lift weights. I can squat low. I can work out twice a day. I’m able to cut and move and stop, able to cut and go. I feel like I’m 31 years old again.”
“And now, I have scientific evidence to show that,” he added.
On this day: Cs icon Bob Cousy drafted in Chicago Stags dispersal draft https://t.co/Fty03puVul
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) October 5, 2020
“”Before the surgery, you could see he was clearly favoring his right side; and that it was painful,” his orthopedist Edwin Su related. “It was natural to avoid pushing off and landing off [his left side].”
“Four months post-op, we are seeing higher loads and seeing symmetry between the right and left. Now, he’s playing like he’s eight months out from surgery, not just four. He’s such a hard worker. He’s moving quickly, and able to jump and pivot.”
Thomas has been given a new artificial join specially designed for his needs as an NBA player and particularly as a short one, with the notion that his burst is a critical component to his success.
After trying to play on a bone-on-bone joint, time ran out for the former Husky in the NBA — only to see the break created by COVID-19 perfect cover for getting the major operation.
The legend of Playoff Rondo lives on – and grows https://t.co/ODRtOsNW80
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) October 4, 2020
“In some ways, the time off because of COVID was a blessing in disguise for my career,” Thomas shared.
“It allowed me to take the time to get this procedure done, and get back physically to a level I need to be to compete in the league. I made the right decision to do this, and I’m anxious to show people I can contribute to a team again.”
While a Celtics reunion is far-fetched, if the results are as significant as IT believes they are in terms of what it does for his playing ability, it’s also not out of the question.
Should the team have a need for a backup floor general after working through its offseason draft and free agency issues, that is — and one would not blame Thomas if he’d prefer to strike out elsewhere given how his tenure with the team ended.
But for fans of the King in the Fourth, this is unequivocally good news for the Boston icon to find another home somewhere in the league if not the Celtics.
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