Isaiah Thomas' Injury Troubles Continue to Derail His NBA Career
By Kevin Aquino
Isaiah Thomas has suffered another injury setback, and he hasn't even put on a Wizards uniform yet. The team reported that Thomas underwent successful surgery to repair a ruptured ligament in his left thumb, and will be sidelined for 6-8 weeks "before returning to action".
"Returning to action" is a bit vague, but Thomas' assumed timetable means that the earliest he could return is around Halloween, which is the second week of the 2019-20 NBA regular season.
Injury Update: Isaiah Thomas underwent successful surgery to repair a rupture of the radial collateral ligament of his left thumb today. He is expected to miss 6-8 weeks before returning to action.
— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) September 18, 2019
MORE: https://t.co/pUa5792WQU pic.twitter.com/YMIPXqpfgv
In other words, IT won't be healthy enough to start the season once again, and will have to delay the opportunity to return to his MVP-caliber form from 2017.
If there's a positive takeaway from the news, it's that two-time All-Star won't be missing time due to the hip injury that has been his main obstacle since leaving Boston. Thomas has been on the Cavaliers, Lakers and Nuggets before signing with Washington this past summer.
With Isaiah Thomas and John Wall on the inactive list to start the season, Ish Smith is now the lone PG on the roster with NBA experience. Wizards have 13 guaranteed contracts and 5 players (Robinson, Philip, Jones, McRae and Anderson) fighting for possibly 2 spots.
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) September 18, 2019
After finishing third in scoring with a career-high 28.7 points per game in 2017, Thomas has played just 44 games and averaged 13.3 points since then. With yet another injury on his 5-foot-9 frame, any hope of returning to a top scorer in the league is dwindling fast.
Fans were hoping Thomas could light up the league alongside Bradley Beal and lead the Wizards into the Eastern Conference playoffs, but alas, that's something that only seems possible in NBA 2K.
It's a shame that injuries have forced IT's career to take a turn for the worse, but at the very least, his peak was a shooting star across the NBA sky.