By Stefan Djordjevic/ info@eurohoops.net
Two times NBA All-Star in Isaiah Thomas has been struggling since the 2017 playoffs with a hip injury and it eventually led to him changing five teams just to become a free agent in February this year.
However, the 31-year-old has used the hiatus due to the pandemic in order to undergo a hip resurfacing procedure which got him back on track as he aims to make a return.
“It’s like night and day for me. There’s no more pain. I’ve got my full range of motion. For three years, I was trying to play the best players in the world on one leg. 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,” Thomas told ESPN.
The man in charge of the whole process was Dr. Edwin Su who noted it was obvious his patient had a problem with pain and using his left side: “Before the surgery, you could see he was clearly favoring his right side; and that it was painful. It was natural to avoid pushing off and landing off [the left]. Four months post-op, we are seeing higher loads and seeing symmetry between the right and left.”
Prior to the injury, Thomas had made a second consecutive All-Star game appearance and was averaging 28.9 points along with being one of the most dominant fourth-quarter scorers in the league.