Isaiah Thomas Says ‘There Will Always Be Love’ Between Him, Celtics Fans

The Wizards are returning to Boston for their first game of the 2019-20 season against the Celtics, and with Washington comes a familiar face for C’s fans: Isaiah Thomas.

This will be just the second time Thomas has returned to TD Garden since he was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2017 in a deal that brought Kyrie Irving to Boston. And the 5-foot-9 guard certainly is happy to be back.

“It’ll be cool. I’m trying to treat it as just another game, but it’ll be great to be back in Boston,” Thomas told reporters Monday, via The Athletic’s Fred Katz. “You know, the love is genuine between me and the city. So, it’s going to be exciting and hopefully we can bring it.”

In fact, IT expects positive vibes from the Boston crowd when his name is announced before the game.

“I mean the reaction is going to be love. There will always be love. But I haven’t visualized (his introduction),” Thomas said. “I’m just trying to treat it as another game and do what it takes to win because they are the enemy.”

Thomas said it would be “cool” to be honored by the team like he was when he returned to TD Garden for the first time with the Denver Nuggets in March. But he’s not expecting it this time around, and is staying focused on the future.

“It’s fun to be back in Boston, to embrace the love that they’re giving me, but I’m there to handle business.”

(You can check out his full comments here.)

TD Garden certainly will be rocking come Wednesday night. Tip-off between the Celtics and Wizards is slated for 7:30 p.m. ET.