Two-time All-Star Isaiah Thomas, who's feeling fit physically for the first time in years, is "anxious" to get his NBA career back on track after undergoing a resurfacing procedure on his right hip five months ago.
"It's like night and day for me," the free-agent guard told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. "There's no more pain. I've got my full range of motion."
Thomas averaged 25.5 points, 6.1 assists, and a steal in 33 minutes per game from 2015-17 with the Boston Celtics, but suffered a right femoral-acetabular impingement re-aggravation with a labral tear in his right hip during the Eastern Conference finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2017.
The once-dynamic guard's production flatlined to 12.8 points, 3.8 assists, and 0.4 steals in 23.4 minutes per game through stops with the Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers, Denver Nuggets, and Washington Wizards from 2017-20. After the Wizards moved him to the Los Angeles Clippers ahead of the February trade deadline, L.A. waived Thomas.
"For three years, I was trying to play the best players in the world on one leg," Thomas said. "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."
