Basketball writers recognized Isaiah Thomas as one of the league’s elite players Thursday, voting the Boston Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas to the All-NBA second team.
It was the first time in Thomas’ career he had garnered All-NBA honors. But in an interview with ESPN’s Hannah Storm after the teams were announced, the diminutive dynamo said his goals are set much higher.
“It’s an accomplishment,” Thomas said. “It’s going in the right direction. But I want so much more. I’m not satisfied. It’s definitely a blessing from God to be — I mean, if you told anybody six years ago when I got drafted that I’d be All-NBA, they probably would have laughed at you. So it’s definitely an accomplishment, but I want more.”
How much more?
“Championships,” Thomas said. “MVPs. Gold medalist. I want it all. That’s why I play this game. I want to be the best, and I mean that.”
The last player selected in the 2011 NBA Draft, Thomas has developed into one of the league’s top scorers since joining the Celtics two years ago. He finished third in the NBA in scoring this season with 28.9 points per game on 46.3 percent shooting, and he’s helped engineer Boston’s deepest playoff run since the days of Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett.
After dispatching the Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards to reach the Eastern Conference finals, the Celtics now are trying to solve a LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers team that has yet to lose this postseason. Cleveland dominated Boston in Game 1Â on Wednesday, leading wire to wire in a 117-104 victory at TD Garden.
“(Our mentality is) just to keep going,” Thomas told Storm. “It’s only one game. That’s why it’s a seven-game series. We weren’t expecting to sweep them. I know the world is expecting them to sweep us, but we believe. We’re not just happy to be here. And I think that’s the big thing about this team. We’re not satisfied with just making it to the Eastern Conference finals. We believe we can win Game 2 and then go from there.”
Game 2 will be Friday night at the Garden, with tipoff set for 8:30 p.m. ET.
Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
