On this day in Boston Celtics history, former Celtics fan favorite floor general Isaiah Jamar Thomas — also known as IT — was born in Tacoma, Washington back in 1989. The Tacoma native would play his NCAA ball with the University of Washington Huskies, picked up with the 60th and final pick of the 2011 NBA draft by the Sacramento Kings.
IT would play stints there and with the Phoenix Suns before being traded to the Celtics for Marcus Thornton and draft assets as part of a major three-team deal. The King in the Fourth (as Thomas was often called as a nickname due to his late-game scoring prowess) would quickly become an offensive force with the Celtics.
He would play three seasons with Boston between 2015 and 2017.
Thomas would average 24.7 points, 2.7 rebounds, 6 assists, and a steal per game across those three seasons, making two All-Star teams while with the club.
After re-injuring himself in the 2017 NBA Playoffs, Boston traded IT to the Cleveland Cavaliers as part of the package that would bring point guard Kyrie Irving to the Celtics in the summer of 2017.
It is also the birthday of former Celtic point guard Milt Palacio, born this day in 1978 in Los Angeles, California.
Palacio went undrafted out of Colorado State and played a season for the (then) Vancouver Grizzlies before joining the Celtics as a free agent in 2000.
The California native would play just 41 games with Boston before being dealt along with Randy Brown and Joe Johnson and draft assets to the Suns, swapped for Tony Delk and Rodney Rogers,
Palacio averaged 5.9 points and 2.6 assists per game as the only Belizean Celtic (and NBA player) in history.
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