Isaiah Thomas Will Represent Celtics At NBA Draft Lottery
BOSTON (CBS) -- Isaiah Thomas was a big part of the Boston Celtics' success during their 48-win season, and now the team is hoping he'll bring them some luck on a night that could fast track the franchise's rebuild.
Thomas told reporters on Friday that he will represent the Celtics at the May 17th NBA Draft lottery. Boston's leading scorer and lone All-Star during the 2015-16 season said he jumped at the opportunity when asked to by co-owner Wyc Grousbeck.
"Coming from where I'm from and the story I have, you'd never think I'd be asked to go represent an NBA franchise at the lottery," said Thomas, the final pick in the 2011 draft. "So it's a blessing for [Grousbeck] to even ask me that. I'm excited to do it and hopefully I can bring some luck."
Luck is one thing the Celtics have not experienced in the lottery. Boston had a 55.8 percent chance at a Top 3 pick in 2007 after going 24-58 during the regular season, but with Tommy Heinsohn representing the team, they ended up with the fifth overall pick (later used in the trade to acquire Ray Allen).
It was worse ten years prior when they had a 27.5 percent chance at landing the No. 1 overall pick and Wake Forest star Tim Duncan, but ended up with the third pick (used to draft Chauncey Billups). Head coach M.L. Carr represented the team at that lottery, and clearly didn't bring any luck with him.
A fairly superstitious Thomas is hoping to find the right lucky charm to turn that bad luck all around.
"I'm going to do my research," he said. "Hopefully I can find something that's good-luck worthy."
Thomas will be there because Boston owns the Brooklyn Nets' first-round selection (from the Kevin Garnett/Paul Pierce trade in 2013), which has the third-best odds of being the first overall selection. The pick could be anywhere from No. 1 to No. 6, with a 46.9 percent chance at being a Top 3 pick.
