On December 17, Beijing time, the 2021-22 NBA regular season was in full swing. Earlier today, Shams reported that free agent point guard Isaiah Thomas finalized a signing with the Lakers, and the Lakers signed a 10-day contract with difficult exceptions. The reason why the Lakers signed Thomas Jr. is related to the triggering of health and safety agreements by many people on the team, including Westbrook.
In yesterday's development league debut, Thomas Jr. scored 42 points, which made him attract the attention of many teams. Thomas Jr.'s last appearance in the NBA was on April 13 of this year, and he made three appearances for the Pelicans last season before leaving the NBA. During this time, Thomas Jr. also represented the United States in the World Championship qualifiers.
It is worth mentioning that Thomas Jr. said not long ago that he was very close to signing with the Lakers this summer, but because Rondo was bought out, the Lakers chose to sign Rondo. This summer, Thomas Jr., who scored 81 points in a single game in an amateur game, hid his face and cried after the game, and the picture was very moving, including James, many NBA stars cheered for him.
In addition, in the 2017-18 season, Thomas Jr. played briefly for the Lakers for half a season. He made 17 appearances for the Lakers, including 16 as a substitute, averaging 26.8 minutes per game, averaging 15.6 points, 2.1 rebounds and 5 assists, shooting 38.3% from the field and 32.7% from the field!
Meanwhile, this is the second time in their careers that Thomas Jr. and James have joined forces. In the summer of 2017, Thomas Jr. was traded to the Cavaliers, where he had been a teammate for half a season. However, due to injury, Thomas Jr. only made 15 appearances for the Cavaliers before being sent away by the Lakers in the middle of the season.
So far in his career, Thomas Jr. has made a total of 528 appearances, including 361 starts, averaging 28.8 minutes per game, 18 points, 2.4 rebounds and 4.9 assists, shooting 43.5% from the field and 36.3% from three-point range. He has been named to the All-Star Team twice in his career and once to the NBA All-NBA Team 2.