Celtics

‘No sir not me!’ Isaiah Thomas refutes report that he might play overseas

The former Celtics star said he will not be playing for CSKA Moscow.

By Tom Westerholm

September 15, 2021

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Former Celtics star Isaiah Thomas does not have an NBA contract, but he will not be headed overseas.

Thomas took to Twitter on Wednesday to refute a report that he might be nearing a deal with CSKA Moscow.

“No sir not me!!! I will not be going overseas. Wrong isaiah,” Thomas wrote on Twitter.

The since-deleted report read “Lots of buzz from overseas that Isaiah Thomas is nearing a deal with CSKA Moscow in Russia. CSKA recently officially cut ties with Mike James.”

Thomas reportedly had impressive workouts with the Mavericks and Lakers this summer. He most recently played three games with the New Orleans Pelicans, and played 40 games for the Wizards in 2019-20, averaging 12.2 points per game. In 2016-17, he made an All-NBA second team with the Celtics and led them to the Eastern Conference Finals.

After his impressive stint with the Celtics came to an end with the Kyrie Irving trade, Thomas dealt with a hip issue that derailed his career. He finally underwent surgery last year and now says he’s pain-free.

“It’s like night and day for me,” Thomas told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. “There’s no more pain. I’ve got my full range of motion. For three years, I was trying to play the best players in the world on one leg. I needed help from my kids to put my socks on in the morning.

“Now, I can lift weights. I can squat low. I can work out twice a day. I’m able to cut and move and stop, able to cut and go. I feel like I’m 31 years old again. And now, I have scientific evidence to show that.”

At a recent pro-am, Thomas scored 81 points and broke down in tears afterward.

“They gave up on me,” he repeated into a towel in a video from the locker room afterward.