Isaiah Thomas is bringing “Mamba Mentality” to New Orleans.
Pelicans announced on Saturday He had signed Thomas to a 10-day contract, allowing the veteran guard to be part of the NBA rotation for the first time in more than a year. Thomas last played in an NBA game on February 3, 2020 as a member of the Wizards. He provided 12.2 points and 3.7 assists in 40 games that season.
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By joining the Pelicans, Thomas is hoping not only to revive his professional career, but also to honor one of his basketball heroes. The two-time All-Star planned to wear number 24 as a tribute to Lakers veteran Kobe Bryant, who died in a helicopter crash on January 26, 2020. (Thomas previously wore nos. 0, 3, 4, 7 and 22.)
Thomas is credited with inspiring Bryant during the 2017 NBA Playoffs and helping him throughout his career. Bryant broke the film with Thomas at the time when Thomas was playing for rival Celtic.
“We’ll be watching the film on speakerphone together on FaceTime,” Thomas said of his chat with Bryant (Via NBA.com) Belongs to. “He tells me what he sees, what I can do and what I can do better to be able to give my team the win. It was all over the playoffs. For me to be able to Kobe Bryant. It was special. It’s wonderful to talk to you and help you, especially for me. It was my favorite player growing up. “
“It was crazy, because I never thought of that type of basketball. And then when I started thinking like that, I’d look at it before I was in the game and think,” Damn it, Kobe really just did Told me the night. “”
After a highly productive run in Boston, Thomas struggled to recover from a hip injury that led to brief stops (with the Lakers) in Cleveland, Los Angeles, and Denver before landing in Washington. He showed NBA teams that he still had something left in the tank when he played for Team USA at the FIBA AmeriCup qualifying games last month.
“The world knows I’ve got what it takes. So, it’s just about showing that I’m healthy.” Thomas said Scored 19 points in a win over the Bahamas. “My skills went nowhere, it was just about being one hundred percent healthy, which I am now.”
Kobe would certainly appreciate the confidence.
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