Newcomer Khyri Thomas enjoys career night in Houston debut

“Me having this opportunity means a lot to me,” Thomas said after scoring a career-high 16 points. “I’m going to make the most of it.”

Thanks to a historic wave of injuries, the NBA granted the Houston Rockets a hardship exception to temporarily fill out their roster, which they used to sign young guard Khyri Thomas to a 10-day contract.

Thomas wasn’t able to officially join the Rockets until about three hours prior to Houston’s game on Friday night in Milwaukee, owing to the league’s entry testing protocols amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Any new player is required to test negative for several consecutive days before they can join group activities. “It was a very long day,” Thomas said.

Nonetheless, even with no practice time with his new teammates and having had only a few brief conversations with the coaching staff, Thomas still made the most of his opportunity. In 23 minutes, Thomas scored a career-high 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting (85.7%), including 2-of-3 on 3-pointers (66.7%). The 6-foot-3 guard also had a career-high 3 steals.

“I’m never going to take this moment for granted,” said Thomas, who was selected at No. 38 overall in the NBA’s 2018 draft. Since then, he’s primarily played in the NBA G League.

“A 10-day or the whole year, I’m going to take the opportunity and run with it,” Thomas said postgame from Milwaukee. “I know a couple guys are hurt. Me having this opportunity means a lot to me. I’m going to make the most of it. I’m not trying to go out here and be Michael Jordan or anything. I’m trying to fit in with the rest of the guys. Just trying to fill my role and do my best. Just want to hoop and play hard.”

The Rockets (16-51) have five games left to play, which will allow them to get a decent look at Thomas before the regular season ends on May 16. Should he make a positive impression, the Rockets could use a portion of their mid-level exception to retain him for future years.

Thomas turned 25 years old on Saturday, and he’ll celebrate his birthday by getting another on-court opportunity with the Rockets during tonight’s game at Utah. Tipoff is scheduled for 9:00 p.m. Central.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J432pQ6v5ow