Over the years, many Boston Celtics players have been influential for the organization. However, most of them did not have the same impact as Isaiah Thomas, who played for the Celtics from 2015 to 2017.
Despite his short stint with the Celtics, he became a hero for the franchise. During his time in Boston, Thomas was an MVP candidate who averaged 24.7 points and 6.0 assists per game. It was a superb stint, but it ultimately did not work out for Thomas.
The Celtics and their fans never forgot Thomas
The 2010s were a bit rocky for the Celtics, but Thomas' arrival helped them regain contender status. It might not have worked out for him in the end, but the Celtics were much better because of Thomas' contributions.
Thomas was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Kyrie Irving, who also had a short-lived stint with the Celtics. However, that set the stage for Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum to take over and become the franchise cornerstones.
After the game, Brown was interviewed, and he recalled his rookie year when he played with Thomas as the veteran. Brown joked about the popcorn incident, but he also showed love to the diminutive dynamo.
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It was not only Brown who paid tribute to Thomas, as Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla had nothing but praise for the former All-Star.
"Outside of the fact that I couldn't hear in the timeout, I thought it was a great gesture to have I.T. Back. He's done so much for the city and really for the organization, and I came right at the tail end of him being here, but just who he was as a person and a player, it just says a lot about him," Mazzulla said to the media after the win over the Heat.
While Thomas is almost a decade removed from his time with the Celtics, he also has love for the franchise. In a previous visit, he was interviewed by the Celtics' media team, and he talked about the time when he felt bad about pulling a popcorn prank on Brown.
On his social media, he also shared a letter that talked about his impact on the Boston community. They never forgot about Thomas, even years later when he only had a short stint with the Celtics.