After scrimmaging and warmups, Isaiah Thomas says he “feels like a basketball player again”

CLEVELAND– Christmas morning, there will likely be children whose smiles won’t be big as the one Isaiah Thomas had on Thursday night.

But Thomas’ smile was not the cause of any physical gifts under a tree or in a stocking; rather, it was the fact that for the first time since May he “felt like a basketball player again.”

While the Cavs topped the Chicago Bulls, 115-112, the day was a big one for Thomas for other reasons. On Thursday afternoon, the point guard completed a practice with the Canton Charge that included his first five-on-five work. In the evening, he got to suit up in a Cavs jersey for the first time to go through warm-ups.

Thomas has not played since the 2016-17 Eastern Conference Finals due to a torn labrum in his right hip. During that time, Thomas also had to mentally deal with being traded to Cleveland from the Boston Celtics over the summer in the Kyrie Irving deal.

But Thursday represented a major step in the right direction, physically and mentally.

“It was everything,” Thomas said. “When I was out there in warmups it just felt like I was a rookie again, like my first game. I haven’t been in an arena like that where you’re warming up, you’re with teammates. That’s so new to me right now because I’ve been down since May. Just being out there put a smile on my face. It was everything for me to just put a jersey on and feel like I was part of the team. That day is coming sooner rather than later though that I’ll be playing, and I can’t wait.”

But despite Thursday being a big day in Thomas’ rehabilitation journey, he is not 100 percent quite yet. Prior to the game, head coach Tyronn Lue ruled Thomas out for the Christmas Day game against the Golden State Warriors. But Thomas insisted that he wouldn’t be as efficient as he knows he can be, even if he were thrown into the lineup.

“That was a target for my kids, so they’re mad, I’m fine with it,” Thomas said when asked about the Christmas game. “I have no rhythm so there’s no way I could play in an actual NBA game right now and be very effective like I’m used to being.

“Slowly that will come back and I’ll get a feel for it, but I also gotta get into some shape. That was probably the toughest part today, running up and down constantly and being a little winded. But the basketball part, I had a smile on my face the whole practice because I felt like a basketball player again.”

Just how long it will take him to find that rhythm, Thomas doesn’t know, since he’s never been out this long (“The hoop is still 10-foot,” he mused saying he would be able to figure it out).

Regardless of how long it takes, however, it’s clear Thomas is closer than ever to being back in action.

“It’s another build,” LeBron James said of Thomas’ day. “It’s a building block and we want to continue that so, to have Isaiah out there in warm-ups with us, going through our prayer, going through the starting lineups and everything with us, it’s just another step in the right direction.”

Last season for the Celtics, Thomas put up stats that had him in the MVP conversation, averaging 28.9 points, 5.9 assists and 2.7 rebounds a game. As far as next steps, Thomas said the team had not had a chance to talk with him yet. One step that Thomas insists won’t happen, however, is playing a full game with the Canton Charge. But the Cavs will have two more practices between now and their game against Golden State for him to get some work in.

While his next steps aren’t crystal clear, the fact remains that both mentally and physically, Thomas is light years away from where he was this summer in the best possible way.

“I feel like a basketball player again,” Thomas said. “At that point I wasn’t feeling like a basketball player, I hadn’t really touched a ball. Getting traded that was brand new to me, so it was tough. But now, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I can see where I fit in at. I don’t know, it’s exciting for me. I’m excited to be able to take that next step and trying to figure out how I’m going to get on the floor.”

Isaiah Thomas talks to media post game, part 1 pic.twitter.com/YL2rQmZtu0

— Ashley Bastock (@AshleyBastock42) December 22, 2017

Isaiah talks to the media, part 2 pic.twitter.com/vTmxlafsKW

— Ashley Bastock (@AshleyBastock42) December 22, 2017

Isaiah Thomas part 3 pic.twitter.com/unJd8oanYM

— Ashley Bastock (@AshleyBastock42) December 22, 2017