The Boston Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas has made a remarkable journey from being the last pick in the 2011 draft (chosen by the Sacramento Kings) to his first All-Star selection this year.

"The Little Guy," as Tommy Heinsohn refers to him with compassion, was among the seven players who today were announced as Eastern Conference reserves.

This puts Thomas in quite exclusive company: He is the smallest player to be selected to the All-Star game since Calvin Murphy in 1979. He is the same height as Thomas 5'9.

It would be an understatement to say that Thomas has made his career on fighting through adversity and beating the odds:

  • * He became the first ever last pick to be named Rookie of the Month, which he did for February 2012.
  • * He is the shortest player ever to record a triple-double, which he did on March 18, 2014, in an overtime win over the Washington Wizards.
  • * In the 2013-2014 season he joined Calvin Murphy, Dana Barros, Damon Stoudamire and Michael Adams as the only players under 6'0" tall to average over 20 points and six assists per game in a season. A feat that he looks to repeat this season, averaging 21.6 points and 6.6 assists.

From Sixth Man to Starter

Last season, Thomas was the runner-up for the Sixth Man of the Year Award, but that won't happen this year, since he moved into the starting lineup early in the season and hasn't left it since.

The knock on Thomas has always been his height, which makes it difficult for him to create enough separation on offense to get his shot off without using a pick. But he more than makes up for it with his speed, which allows him to get to the rim and draw free throws at a high rate - 6.3 attempts per game this season.

On defense, Thomas has made strides this season. Probably because he is now familiar with the Celtics defense. He came to the team at the trade deadline last season, so his integration on both ends of the floor happened on the fly. He didn't actually get to work on his role until training camp for this season. 

You have to dig a little deeper than on/off numbers to see that Thomas is doing a good job on defense, mostly because he almost always gets substituted by Marcus Smart, who might be one of the best defenders in the league. So it really shouldn't be a surprise that the Celtics defense is stronger when Thomas goes to the bench.

If you, however, look at Thomas' impact on opponents' shooting, the player tracking stats from NBA.com show that the players, who he defends, have a 1.4 percent lower field goal percentage than their season average. You can obviously dig deeper than this, but this number alone shows that whatever he's doing on defense works.

Add his elite offensive production and you have a player deserving of the All-Star selection.

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About the author
Torkil Bang
Freelance journalist with a passion for basketball and other sports.