Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Mike D. Sykes, II

Isaiah Thomas got so emotional after an 81-point performance in a Pro-Am game

It wasn’t that long ago that Isaiah Thomas was an All-NBA player on the highest levels of basketball.

He has dazzling performances in the playoffs where he’s dropping 52 points and making history for the Boston Celtics — one of the most historic franchises in the NBA. This dude was legitimately good.

And now, just four seasons removed from that, he’s out of the NBA. It’s hard to fathom, really. His star burned so bright and then went out, seemingly, just as quickly.

But he hasn’t given up on making a comeback and returning to form. And he’s also still really good at basketball.

So good, in fact, that he dropped 81-points in Jamal Crawford’s Crawsover Pro-Am League. That dude can still ball, man.

He had 40 at the half.

 

After all of that, he had an incredibly emotional moment where he reflected on everything and said everyone “gave up on me.”

*Warning: There is some NSFW language in this video and the tweets that follow it* 

“They gave up on me.” 

Those simple words mean so much for Thomas. People took that as him meaning the NBA gave up on him, but he explained what he meant on Twitter.

It wasn’t just the NBA he was talking about. He said that everyone gave up on him. And his 81-point game was confirmation to him that he’s still got it.

This is awesome, man. I’m ready to run through a brick wall. It’s really hard not to root for him on his journey to make it back to the league.

Maybe one day, he’ll get a shot at the NBA again. Maybe he won’t. But one thing is certain: He won’t stop working for it.

Watch our sneaker unboxing series, Special Delivery 

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s son Maddox drops ‘Pitt’ from name in credits of his mother’s new film
The 24 year-old worked as an assistant director on ‘Couture’
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Seth Meyers Called Out Ben Marshall Over How Often He's Shirtless On SNL, And He Had An A+ Response
Who is to blame?
Cinemablend
Cinemablend
Woman reveals how she manipulated algorithms in the 2000s to become a MySpace emo queen with 48,000 followers: ‘The birth of a marketing genius’
If you grew up during the peak of the 2000s internet, you probably remember “Emo Queens” with neon hair and dramatic side-swept bangs. They seemed to dominate every corner of Myspace even when calling yourself emo was a no-no. 
The Mary Sue
The Mary Sue
A genetic analysis reveals new details on ancient couplings between humans and Neanderthals
Ancient linkups may have happened more frequently between female humans and male Neanderthals, according to an new genetic analysis
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
LA girl wins the internet after admitting to her ‘pick me’ tales of using her friend’s Snapchat to ‘poll’ guys for validation: ‘You’re so brave’
We all have skeletons in our digital closets. But this Los Angeles woman is winning the internet for her bravery in airing out her humiliating “pick-me” teenage phase. 
The Mary Sue
The Mary Sue
“We spent the night in a BDSM dungeon and our tour manager slept in a coffin”: Endorsed by Megadeth and influenced by their genre’s most evil-sounding bands, Worm are a wild new force in black metal
Inspired by infamous documentary Until The Light Takes Us, the musician known as Phantom Slaughter launched an unhinged project – and now Megadeth’s Marty Friedman is involved
Metal Hammer
Metal Hammer
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.
Download on the AppStore Get it on Google Play