Just after December, the Bucks officially announced the signing of Cousins, who was previously unemployed, with a one-year non-guaranteed contract. He will wear No. 15 to represent the team. Last season, "Kaoshen" played for the Rockets and Clippers, playing in a total of 41 games, averaging 8.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game.

In the recent game against the Hornets, Cousins ??made his Bucks career debut. He came on as a substitute for 14 minutes, made 3 of 5 shots, scored 7 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal, helping the team win. 8 consecutive wins. As a star ruined by injuries, Cousins ??is lucky in his current situation. At least there are NBA teams willing to give him a chance to show his strength, while his smaller teammates in the Kings period have gradually faded out of the fans' sight.

He entered the NBA at the buzzer in the 2011 draft, but was given up by various teams due to height issues. In the process of moving around, he struggled and struggled, and finally found his way to Boston. Feeling like home. He endured the pain and went out to play and tried his best for the team, but he could never escape the fate of being abandoned. His heart was as high as the sky but his ambition was unfulfilled. He was Isaiah Thomas.

Basketball has been recognized as a giant's sport since its inception, but in the history of the NBA, there have always been some small players who do not believe in evil to challenge this established fact. Since the NBA was established in June 1946 So far, there are 68 players in the league with a height of less than 178cm who have played records. The most famous among them are:

It is precisely because the NBA has the above players that it makes fans feel The NBA is not that far away from ordinary people, but if you want to step into the highest palace of basketball, excellent physical fitness (including jumping, speed, endurance, etc.) and soft touch are the special skills of these little guys.

Thomas Jr. was born in February 1989 in Tacoma, a port city in Washington state, USA. His father, James Thomas, was a quality inspector at Boeing Aircraft Company. According to his father, James Thomas, little Thomas didn’t have many friends since he was a child. Except for his sister who he grew up with, he spent most of his time playing basketball alone.

Because his father was an avid basketball fan, he would take Thomas to the basketball court at the Air Force base to compete with adults whenever he was free. After being severely bullied by his opponents, James Thomas lost his son. Encouraging him to never be disappointed in himself shaped his tough character from an early age.

Because his father is only 1.70 meters tall, he is worried that Thomas, who is obsessed with basketball, will miss out on his dream of being a professional player because of his inherited height. For this reason, he specially installed a pull-up machine at home. Helping my son grow taller, I never thought that I would inadvertently develop solid upper body strength.

In the physical test before the NBA draft, Thomas could bench press 83 kilograms 13 times (1 more than Westbrook), which is very close to top point guards such as Curry and Irving.

There is an interesting little story about the origin of Thomas's name:

Although his father James Thomas is an authentic Californian, he liked "bad boys". Legion" became an avid Pistons fan. On the eve of the 1989 NBA Finals, James Thomas made a bet with his wife with his 4-month-old son who had not yet been named: If the Pistons can finally win the championship, then his wife Just follow his advice and name your son Isiah Thomas.

In this year’s finals, the Pistons easily swept the Lakers 4-0 to win the championship. The wife finally agreed to the agreement she made with her husband before the game, but she asked to add the letter a in the middle of her son’s name, so that he would become He had a biblical name, Isaiah Thomas.

In 2008, Thomas graduated from high school and chose to join the University of Washington, which provided her with a full scholarship. Thomas ranked 35th in this year's national college guard rankings.

In three seasons in college, Thomas wore the No. 2 jersey and played 105 games on behalf of the University of Washington, averaging 16.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4 assists per game, scoring 114.8 points per 100 possessions and conceding 100.1 points. . In his junior year, Thomas' assists increased from 3.2 in his sophomore season to 6.1, and his timing of sharing the ball and passing the ball became more exciting.

Although the statistics in college were very good, the arrogant NBA scouts are not interested in the on-court skills of this guard who can shoot suddenly, have excellent core strength, and has excellent passing awareness. He can attract the ball. Looking sideways, Thomas is still embarrassed by his "passerby" height.

In order to fulfill his childhood dream, after his junior semester, Thomas decided to try the NBA draft. In the 2011 draft, the most famous players were Irving, Klay Thompson, Walker, and Lay Leonard, Butler, et al.

A strong body, a wingspan of 1.88 meters, and a take-off height of 1.02 meters. These excellent physical indicators cannot conceal the fatal weakness in the eyes of scouts: a height of only 1.75 meters.

At the 2011 draft, as the number of draft spots became less and less, Thomas seemed to feel that the NBA door was slowly closing on him. He was even considering which team to join to play in the summer league. Finally, with the 60th pick in the second round, the last spot in the 2011 draft, the Sacramento Kings selected Thomas.

After coming to the Kings, Thomas became the substitute for Tyreke Evans and Fredette. In this shortened season, he played in 65 games, 37 starts, and averaged 25.5 minutes per game. , able to contribute 11.5 points and 4.1 assists.

In the 12-13 season, the joining of Aaron Brooks took away Thomas's main position and playing time. However, the former helped King King achieve 6 wins and 11 losses in the 17 games he started. record, so after Christmas in 2012, coach Smart took Thomas back to the starting lineup.

This time, Thomas did not miss the opportunity again. Laura occupied the starting position until the end of the season. As the season progressed, she gradually found a way to survive with Tyreke Evans. This also caused Thomas' personal usage rate to increase significantly, and his average data per game also reached 13.9 points and 4 rebounds.

In the summer of 2013, the Kings sent away Tyreke Evans through a three-party trade and acquired the selfless point guard Vasquez. The completion of this deal announced that Thomas officially became the Kings. Core point guard.

At the beginning of the 13-14 season, Thomas Jr., as the team's sixth man, provides continuous firepower for the team at this stage. As Cousins ????has gradually matured, the Kings have basically determined that Cousins ????will lead the first team. , Thomas leads the second team rotation. But as Vasquez was traded to the Raptors in December, Thomas officially took over the ball for the Kings. This season, his average data increased to 20.3 points and 6.3 assists per game.

Although his personal data is excellent, in the 53 games that Thomas started as a starter, the Kings only achieved a record of 21 wins and 32 losses. The entire season's record of 28 wins and 54 losses ranked only third from the bottom in the Western Conference. .

In the summer of 2014, Thomas' rookie contract expired. Although he had played for the Kings for three years, Thomas still could not eliminate the team's concerns about his height with his performance on the court. Finally, after the free market opened, the Kings reached a deal with the Suns: the Kings first renewed Thomas with a four-year, $27 million contract, and then sent him to the Suns in exchange for 2013 second-round pick Oriachi and a trade exception.

In the 14-15 season, the Suns hoarded three point guards, Dragic, Bledsoe, and Thomas, because these three players are all starting players and all need the ball. This contradiction gives coach Hornacek a headache. At the beginning of the season, coach Hornacek tried a double point guard or even a three-back lineup, but the results were not satisfactory.

After half a season of torture in the Suns, at the trade deadline in February 2015, Thomas left the Suns in a three-party deal and put on the Celtics' No. 4 jersey. Although Thomas Jr., who came to the Green Army this season, played as a substitute, he became the undisputed leading scorer in this leaderless team.

In the 15-16 season, Thomas met the player of his career: Stevens! This handsome coach was good at "turning decay into magic" at Butler University. Facing the rebuilt and young Green Army, Coach Stevens decided to give Thomas the freedom to play on the court.

Throughout the season, Thomas completed the only 82 games in his career, averaging 16.9 shots per game, setting a career high, completing 20 in 58 times, averaging 22.2 points, 3 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game. With his statistics, he was selected to the All-Star for the first time in his career, setting a new record for the shortest player in All-Star history.

In the summer of 2016, Thomas helped the team recruit top insider Al Horford. This season, Thomas ranked third in the scoring list with an average of 28.9 points per game, trailing only Westbrook and Harden. Selected as an All-Star for the second time in his career.

At the same time, Thomas Jr. scored 684 points in the fourth quarter of the entire season, earning him the title of "King of the Final Quarter". What’s even more exaggerated is that this season, Thomas’ ball usage rate was as high as 34, his win share was 12.5, and his PER was 26.5. This made him a candidate for the regular season MVP and ranked fifth in the final rankings. Selected to the All-NBA Second Team.

Under the leadership of Thomas, the Celtics won first place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 53 wins and 29 losses.

On April 16, 2017, during the last team training before the playoffs, Thomas was informed by his teammate and fellow countryman Avery Bradley that his sister had unfortunately been killed in a car accident. information. As mentioned earlier, my sister was the closest family member that Thomas grew up with. This sad news plunged Thomas into great grief.

On the day of the game, when Thomas ran out of the tunnel, all the fans at the North Shore Garden Arena gave him respectful applause. Thomas also wrote "Pray for my sister" and "I love you" on his boots.

In this game, Thomas Jr. scored a game-high 33 points with the great grief of his sister's death, and also had 6 rebounds and 6 assists, although the Green Army ultimately lost by 2 points. game, but Thomas received the greatest respect from fans and opponents.

After narrowly missing the Bulls, Thomas returned to his hometown to attend his sister's funeral before the start of the second round of the playoffs. He covered his face and cried like a child.

Throughout the playoffs, Thomas not only suffered huge psychological pain, he also collided with Otto Porter in the first game of the Eastern Conference semifinals and lost a front tooth. Thomas still persisted and finished the game, scoring 33 points and 9 assists, leading the team to a good start.

On May 3, in the second game of the Eastern Conference semifinals, the Celtics defeated the Wizards in overtime at home. This day was originally the 23rd birthday of his sister Senna. Thomas Jr. used his professional A career-high 53 points and a victory gave my sister a belated blessing.

Throughout the playoffs, Thomas was tortured by hip injuries, physical pain from tooth loss, and psychological pain from the sudden death of his sister. In order not to affect the team's playoff journey, he started playing against At the beginning of the Wizards' series, Thomas began to use physical methods to relieve his pain.

In the sixth game against the Wizards, Thomas' hip was hit by an opponent's player again. Even so, Thomas still scored 29 points and 12 assists in the tiebreaker. Lead the team to advance with head held high. The stronger Thomas eventually chose to sit out due to a hip injury. Limited by the strength gap and injuries, the Celtics, who made it to the Eastern Conference finals, fell at the feet of the Cavaliers after 5 games.

When this injury occurred in March 2017, Thomas should have chosen surgery as soon as possible, because some medical studies have shown that the earlier such surgery is performed, the better the effect. But Thomas always chose conservative treatment until two consecutive collisions made Thomas' hip injury continue to worsen. In Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Cavaliers, the injury worsened to the point where he had to sit out.

Thomas, who was recovering from his injury at home, was looking forward to his next contract extension, but he had no idea that he had been involved in a big deal that shocked the entire league. In the summer of 2007, the Cavaliers became the point guard. Irving submitted a trade request. Green Army general manager Anji saw the opportunity and gave up almost all his chips: the Nets' first-round pick in 2018, defensive iron Crowder, insider Zizic, and his team's star player Xiao Thomas.

In the NBA, which puts profits above all else, Angie’s actions are understandable. However, after Coach Stevens learned that Thomas was traded, he didn’t even have the courage to call Thomas in the five hours. Cell phone, he couldn't face his former beloved disciple leaving the team in this way.

In the summer of 2017, the Cleveland Cavaliers were recruiting in the free market, including Wade and Rose. The joining of these two former super guards and the arrival of Thomas Jr. made Cavaliers fans worried about Irving's departure. It’s no longer so hard to accept. After going through the twists and turns of being traded to the Cavaliers, Thomas was able to patiently recuperate in the Cavaliers' relaxed environment.

The Cavaliers had a poor start to the 17-18 season. In the first 12 games of the regular season, the team only achieved a poor record of 5 wins and 7 losses. This is not good for a team that has joined the Warriors in the finals for three consecutive years. It was simply unacceptable for a strong team. At this time, Cavaliers fans targeted Thomas, who had been unable to come back.

On January 3, 2018, Thomas appeared in Quicken Loans Arena for the first time wearing a Cavaliers jersey. In this game, he contributed 17 points and 3 assists. Just one month later, the Cavaliers sent Thomas as a bargaining chip to the Lakers along with Channing Frye and a first-round pick.

Unfortunately, the Lakers did not include Thomas in the team’s future blueprint from the beginning. The Purple and Gold Army in the 17-18 season is still dominated by many young people, and head coach Walton has not yet To knead the young players into a whole, adding a point guard who is accustomed to playing with the ball in his hands is an uncertain factor for the growth of the young players in the Lakers.

Two years ago, Thomas had the best season of his career and claimed that he would only consider a maximum salary contract. However, after the injury, Thomas failed to recognize the reality and adjust his mentality in time. Complaining, unwilling to accept his role on a new team, unwilling to move on from the glory days of the Celtics.

The fact is that since leaving the Celtics, his on-court performance has dropped significantly - his true shooting percentage has dropped by 10 percentage points, and his sharp mid-range shooting percentage in his peak season has even dropped by half. The PER value and win share value are pitifully low, but the ball usage rate is still high.

Generally speaking, Thomas's playing style has not changed, but his injured body is no longer enough to handle his consuming style of play. The changes in the new team's system and personal mentality have been unconsciously affected by him. Ignored, so a strong fighter turns into a whiny lothario.

Thomas subsequently moved to the Nuggets, Wizards, Pelicans and other teams, but his poor offensive efficiency and inherent disadvantages on the defensive end made it difficult for him to gain a foothold in the team, and he gradually faded out. beyond the fans’ horizons.

In August of this year, in a semi-professional game held in the United States, Thomas, the "King of the Final Quarter" who had disappeared from the fans' sight for a long time, wore Kobe sneakers and scored 81 points in the game, using nearly Crazy personal performance once again returned to the fans' horizons. In an interview after the game, he, who is currently a free agent, collapsed emotionally. He covered his face and cried bitterly: "They gave up on me!"

Thomas has not given up any chance of returning to the NBA. Currently, He is representing the United States team in the World Cup preliminaries in the Americas. As the team's leading scorer and assister, his performance is very impressive.