Isaiah Thomas Honored To Be Part Of Kobe Bryant's Final All-Star Game
BOSTON (CBS) -- Isaiah Thomas may have been representing the Boston Celtics at Sunday's NBA All-Star Game, but that didn't stop him from offering effusive praise to one of the franchise's great rivals.
Kobe Bryant played in his final All-Star Game, as the future Hall of Famer announced earlier this season that it will be his final year in the NBA. As such, Bryant received a nice ovation from the crowd on his way off the court in the final minute of Sunday's exhibition. And after Bryant received congratulations from his temporary teammates, Thomas was there to give the Laker a big hug at halfcourt.
It was a big moment for Thomas, who mentioned Kobe's name after the game without even being asked.
"It was good to just be out there on the court with those other guys and experience Kobe's last All-Star Game," Thomas said when asked for his thoughts on the game. "For me and my family to go through this weekend was great, and hopefully I can have some more weekends like it."
He was then asked specifically about Bryant.
"No doubt. I've said it, he's the greatest player of my generation, somebody I've looked up to," Thomas said. "We probably won't see another Kobe Bryant ever again, so it's an honor to be able to share a court with him [when playing] against the Lakers, but even against him in an All-Star Game."
Thomas said that Bryant even offered some advice.
"Yeah, I talked to him in the locker room before the game," Thomas said. "We were talking about, he asked me how my weekend was going and he said, 'I know it's going fast, but sit back and really take time to reflect on it because it's going to go by fast. You see how special it really is.'"
For the 37-year-old Bryant, it was his 18th All-Star selection, while the 27-year-old Thomas was experiencing All-Star weekend for the first time. Yet it was Thomas who was able to score over one of his basketball idols before the night was done.
"Yeah, yeah. He started laughing about it. I got him with one," Thomas said of his basket over Bryant. "Yeah, I was happy about that."