Sister's death made Isaiah Thomas want to 'give up and quit'
Boston Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas opened up about his struggles following the death of his sister, Chyna, sharing a touching speech at her funeral on Saturday.
"When I found out the news I wanted to give up and quit. And never in my life have I ever thought about quitting," Thomas said in the eulogy, according to King5.com in Tacoma. "I realized quitting isn't an option. That's the easy way out. I will keep going for my sister, as I know she wouldn't want me to stop. I love you Chyna and I miss you so much. And everything I do for the rest of my life will be for you. I love you girl."
Thomas traveled to Tacoma, Wash., immediately following Friday's Game 6 victory over the Chicago Bulls in order to attend Chyna's memorial service.
Celtics head coach Brad Stevens spoke to Thomas shortly after Saturday's funeral, making sure to keep the conversation away from basketball.
"I talked to him for a few minutes. I just talked to him about the clip I saw of him speaking yesterday at the funeral," Stevens told Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald. "We were texting yesterday and obviously I've had a lot of talks with him over the last two weeks.
"My discussion with him wasn't about basketball, obviously. It was just about how hard it is to speak at a funeral. He's been through a lot."
Thomas has yet to miss a game this postseason, suiting up and starting in Sunday's Game 1 against the Washington Wizards.
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