Whatever the definition of elite is, Isaiah Thomas says he should be included in it.
Sure he might not be the biggest guy on the court at 5-foot-9, but size does not stop him from thinking he is one of the best.
“All I’m going to say is men lie, women lie, numbers don’t.” Thomas told the team’s website. “My numbers stack up against all those other guys, those other top superstar guys, I guess you’d say. At the end of the day, I’m just going to continue to work and continue to show that I’m just as good as any other point guard in the NBA.”
So yeah, he thinks he’s a superstar.
Well, he kind of has a point. Let’s be honest. He put up 22.2 points per game with 6.2 assists and 1.1 steals per 32.2 minutes. He was the C’s leading scorer and his numbers are not too different from Kyrie Irving and John Wall. Sure, they might be depended on as much to score, but Thomas was named to his first All-Star game this year.
Even if — by name — he is not considered a superstar out of Boston, he has been on the rise.
And this could be the year he receives more recognition outside of Boston — especially since the C’s will probably be a better team all-around this year.
He would probably considered elite league-wide if his highly convincing pitch for Kevin Durant to sign with the Celtics worked. And it nearly did.
Celtics fans can be happy though because Thomas is confident. He believes in himself and has numbers to back it up.
With the addition of Al Horford, a little pressure comes off Thomas to be a go-to scorer and with the added dynamic, Thomas will likely play better because he is surrounded by more talent.