Today's Edition
KUUMAR SHYAM (ABU DHABI)
Two-time NBA All-Star Isaiah Thomas reflected on his journey from the bottom of the draft board to the top tier of professional basketball during the launch of the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Abu Dhabi League Season 6 Draft at NYU Abu Dhabi over the weekend.
The expanded sixth season stands as the largest to date, featuring 240 teams and more than 3,600 boys and girls competing across Abu Dhabi and Al Ain. Over 680 games are scheduled, concluding with 12 championship matches in April 2027.
The current campaign also sees the debut of an Under-18 division comprising 30 boys’ and 30 girls’ teams.
Thomas, who spent 12 years in the NBA despite standing at 5ft 9in, spoke to participating youth players about managing uncertainty and building self-confidence.
Drafted as the 60th and final pick by the Sacramento Kings in 2011, he recalled the anxiety of watching team after team pass him up. "I didn't think I was going to get drafted once the draft kept going on and my name wasn't even called," Thomas said. "My mom called me around like the 55th pick... She read me a Bible scripture and it said, 'First shall be last and the last shall be first.' I took that to heart."
Six years later, Thomas was offered to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Kyrie Irving, the top overall pick in that same 2011 draft. "Six, seven years later, we end up getting traded for each other. So that shows you how not important the draft is. After you get drafted, you're back to square one," Thomas noted.
"I bet on myself, and luckily I ended up getting drafted... To have a 12-year NBA career at 5'9", being one of the shortest players to ever play the game, is inspiring and I want to be able to inspire others."
When offering counsel to young athletes navigating decisions about their school, college, or basketball development in a dynamic city like Abu Dhabi, Thomas emphasised finding environments that offer genuine trust.
"Do what's best for you," Thomas said. "Go where you're wanted, where you're needed, where your opportunity will be there for you. Because a lot of times if you don't, then that's when you're going to be hopping around different places."
Reflecting on his entry into the league, Thomas shared his welcome-to-the-NBA moment while facing his childhood idol, the late Kobe Bryant, during his debut with Sacramento against the Los Angeles Lakers.
"Coach [Paul] Westphal puts me in the game... He's like, 'You got Kobe Bryant.' I'm thinking in my head, thank you for putting me in, but Kobe backs everybody down," Thomas recalled. "The first three possessions of my NBA career, I'm really sitting behind Kobe Bryant, guarding him, just smiling... He scored on me two out of three times. This is the first time in my life where when somebody scored on me, I was smiling."
During a stoppage at the free-throw line, Thomas positioned himself deliberately alongside Bryant to ensure a photograph was captured.
"I know somebody's going to take a picture if I go by him. So I go by him like this... He didn't even act like I was there," Thomas laughed. "Somebody sends me a picture. That's been my screensaver my whole career."
