Who owns the wristwatch celebration? Isaiah Thomas, Damian Lillard, or John Wall?
Who wore it best? pic.twitter.com/Jxg9N3mjJG
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) February 7, 2017
According to Thomas, it doesn't matter. Instead, what matters is what players actually accomplish once the imaginary watch comes out.
"I mean Damian Lillard did it a few years ago," the Boston Celtics star told SI's Andrew Sharp. "So I didn't make it up, but he didn't make it up, either. John Wall didn't make it up, either. So it is what it is. People can do the same celebrations. But nobody's been doing what I'm doing in the fourth quarters."
While Thomas might be cocky, he's not wrong.
The 5-foot-9 floor general averages a league-leading 10.3 points in the final frame. He's also the second-clutchest player (behind only Russell Westbrook) with an average of 5.1 points in the final five minutes of games within five points.
By comparison, Lillard averages 7.3 points in the fourth (7th) while Wall puts up six points (16th) during that time.
Thomas' late-game heroics have earned him the nickname "King of the Fourth." Despite that, the 28-year-old insisted the last quarter doesn't really differ from the first three.
"It feels normal," the All-Star said. "It's not normal, but it feels normal. When I go into fourth quarters I'm not looking to score 20 points, I'm just looking to do what my team needs me to do, each and every night. I try to be that. ... I always want to be known as a consistent player, and this year, that fourth quarter is just ... When that time comes, I just try to be myself."
Thomas ranks second in the NBA in scoring with 29.4 points per game on 46 percent shooting from the field and 38 percent from long range. He also chips in 6.2 assists and 2.7 rebounds for the Celtics, who are second in the East.
