Isaiah Thomas points to another return to the NBA.

According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, the former two-time All-Star is set to sign with the NBA G League to take part in the upcoming G League Showcase.

As Charania mentioned, the G League Showcase will take place December 19-22 in Las Vegas, giving players a chance to prove themselves in front of scouts for a chance to break an NBA roster.

Thomas, 32, has been looking for a return to the NBA for a few years, but has yet to find a permanent landing spot. For more information on what the G League Showcase is and the timeline for Thomas’ return, we’ve got you covered below.

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Timeline of the return of Isaiah Thomas

It’s been quite a journey for Thomas, who was selected with the last pick (No. 60) in the 2011 NBA Draft.

The peak of his career came during a two-year streak with the Boston Celtics, where Thomas won back-to-back All-Star Game nominations in 2015-16 and 2016-17. Averaging 28.9 points and 5.9 assists per game while leading the Celtics to the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, Thomas was named the All-NBA Second Team and finished fifth in the MVP voting. season.

After that season, a hip injury derailed his career path, rebounding from team to team after being traded from Boston to Cleveland for Kyrie Irving during the 2017 offseason.

Since then, Thomas has played for five different teams as he tried to heal his hip and regain full strength, but the veteran shooting guard has not found a new place to call home.

In 2019-20, he played 40 games for the Washington Wizards, starting in 37 of those contests with an average of 12.2 points and 3.7 assists per game. Last season, in 2020-21, Thomas signed a 10-day contract with the New Orleans Pelicans, averaging 7.7 points in three appearances.

Most recently, on his way back, Thomas competed with Team USA in the 2023 FIBA ​​World Cup Qualifiers in November and had a handful of bright spots, including a game-sealing 3-pointer over Cuba.

Thomas had two shocking games for Team USA, going for 21 points in each competition.

Isaiah Thomas for Team USA in the FIBA ​​World Cup Americas Qualifiers
Adversary MP Pts FGM-FGA 3:00 p.m. M. At 3:00 p. M. AST REB TO
vs. Cuba 24 twenty-one 7-20 4-11 3 one 4
vs. Mexico 25 twenty-one 7-11 3-6 10 one 6

“The ultimate goal is to get back to the NBA,” Thomas said while playing for the United States National Team in qualifying for the 2023 World Cup.

Just a month later, Thomas will show off his skills at the G League Showcase. It has not yet been announced which G League team he will be dressing for, but check out updates on the 32-year-old guard’s situation.

What is the NBA G League showcase?

The 2023 G League Showcase features a single elimination tournament in which eight teams will compete for the Showcase Cup Championship.

The fight to be part of the eight-team Showcase Cup field began on November 5, when the 29 teams from the G League and NBA G League Ignite split into four regional groups, playing 12 matches against each other in local markets. of the NBA G League.

The teams with the best winning percentages in each regional group, along with the next four league teams with the best winning percentages, will play for the Showcase Cup Championship during the Winter Showcase. The remaining teams will each play two games outside of the Showcase Cup Tournament during the event.

The field is yet to be set up for the G League Showcase, with the “regional pod” schedule scheduled to conclude on December 17.

The G League Showcase will begin on Sunday, December 19 and conclude on Wednesday, December 22.

The team scouts and executives will be present to evaluate the players.