Watch this man: Isaiah Thomas is back, baby

The Washington Wizards’ Isaiah Thomas has finally found his form after two injury-riddled seasons.

Two and a half years ago, Isaiah Thomas was the star of the Boston Celtics, the heart and soul of a team that won 53 games and made the Eastern Conference Finals. He drove them with an awe-inspiring 28.9 points per game, which no one expected from this diminutive All-Star.

Lingering, however, was a hip injury that needed surgery. Thomas played through it in the 2017 postseason, but going that extra mile contributed to playing just 44 games over the next two years for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets. He was not healthy at any of these destinations, spending more time rehabbing than playing.

For maybe one last chance at redemption, the Washington Wizards gave Thomas a one-year, $2.3 million contract, with John Wall set to miss most, if not all, of the 2019-20 season due to injury. So far, the 30-year-old point guard has dug himself out of basketball purgatory and become relevant again.

Defensive value from a 5-foot-9 player was never going to be significant, before or after the injury. Washington gives up a league-high 116.4 points per 100 possessions, getting by with a full-blown offensive attack that ranks fifth in points per 100 possessions, fourth in field goal percentage and ninth in true shooting percentage. Attribute at least part of that to Thomas.

A renaissance in 3-point shooting has Thomas on track for a career-high, currently at 41 percent, which, per Cleaning the Glass, puts him in the 79th percentile. He’s always relied heavily on outside shooting, but 45.1 percent of his attempts are from long distance, including taking 10 attempts in his season debut, another high-mark for his eight NBA seasons.

The biggest development from Thomas’ 2016-17 season to 2019-20 is how much he’s backed off the mid-range shot. Of course, that came with more overall shot attempts in a high-profile role with Boston, but he was in the 94th percentile in long mid-range shot frequency (outside of 14 feet) three seasons ago. Now, he is just in the 48th percentile, taking the leftover percentage of shots to the outside or closer to the rim. Basically, he’s adjusting to the rest of the NBA’s tendencies.

Also per Cleaning the Glass, Thomas’ rim shots have declined from the 54th to the 33rd percentile. Losing that explosiveness from the injury, coupled with the lack of height, could be the reason for the spike in his short mid-range shots (4-14 feet).

An ongoing calf injury threatens to slow him down, but as long as Thomas is still mobile enough to stretch the floor, that’s about all the value Washington needs from him.

Will any of this garner national attention? Probably not. Thomas is just a piece on a fun-but-bad Wizards team that is not making the 2020 NBA Playoffs, barring a defensive revival. They don’t have a national television game until March 13 on NBA TV, so this return to relevancy will likely remain quiet for the rest of the season, which is not the worst thing for a player trying to rebuild his value.

Those magical numbers from 2016-17 will never return, or even approach what they previously were. Expecting that from Thomas at this stage of his career is excessive, as he makes spot starts and takes slightly bigger roles on worse teams, including these Wizards. It doesn’t make him a player to shove aside, though, as he’s performed capably and potentially earned a longer career in the process. A full-time starting gig is no longer in the cards, but he’s fine scoring depth. Where that happens is anyone’s guess, but it’s a nice early-season story for a player who was a shell of himself in the previous 24 months.