Isaiah Thomas: The Purple King
By Mark Knight
Isaiah Thomas has been known to play with a chip on his shoulder. Usually when he is pumped up by the media or people are high on him, Thomas doesn’t play well. However, the opposite is true when he feels forgotten or undervalued, then Thomas is known for carrying that chip on his shoulder and then carrying his team on his shoulders.
Coach Romar told Gregg Bell of GoHuskies.com,
“He already has a permanent chip on his shoulder. I’m sure the chip just got bigger.” This has to be truth as Thomas was being told by many that he had the potential to be taken in the first round.
Thomas was drafted by the Sacramento Kings as the very last pick in the NBA draft: #60. He told all his skeptics that he would be drafted. He guaranteed it. He barely lived up to that promise of being drafted BUT he was drafted. While his fellow Huskies; Matthew Bryan-Amaning and Justin Holiday are now undrafted NBA free-agents looking for a home.
Thomas is going to use that chip to his advantage, he is going to come into Sacramento and have plans of becoming the King. Not just a King, but the King of Sacramento.
He did the same thing coming out of high school, he felt he was underrated and that many people were not giving him his due. He felt he deserved a higher star rating and a better evaluation. He came into UW with something to prove. He did just that, putting himself amongst UW’s greats. And had Thomas decided to stay around one more year, he would have set himself as the all-time points leader and the all-time assists leader at UW. He became the Purple King. He carried his team to a Pac-12 title as he was the only point guard on scholarship that was able or eligible to play.
He walks into Sacramento ready to do the same thing. To begin to take over games, to prove that no matter his size, he can score and he can defend. Thomas is now hungry and ready to devour whatever NBA obstacle comes his way.
There aren’t many players like Thomas that can literally take over a game. The Kings just found their new king in the second round.