Isaiah Thomas knows how tough it is to move to a new city. It has been well publicized how he was caught off guard when he learned he had been traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers this summer as part of a package that sent Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics. Thomas had found a home in Boston. He was adored by the fan base, an MVP-caliber player with an underdog's heart. He expected he would be there for a long time.
And then, just like that, he was gone. Off to Cleveland. Not much time to process everything. Only time to get some logistics sorted out and pack his things and hit the road. People forget that these athletes are, indeed, just like the rest of us. Thy have friends and neighbors and attachments in their communities. They have to deal with real life, too. Picking up your life and moving to a new city isn't any easier because you're a famous basketball player, particularly when you've become attached to where you're at.
So Thomas is getting involved in his new community, building new attachments. As he continues to work his way back from the hip injury that ended his season in last season's Eastern Conference finals, Thomas has hooked up with Kids Foot Locker as part of its "New Kid in Town" series, spending a day with 10-year-old London Arrington, who also just moved to Cleveland with her family from Los Angeles. It's a pretty cool thing. Arrington had no idea the new friend she would be meeting was an NBA All-Star. Check it out:
"Boston was a special place for me," Thomas told CBS Sports. "I was there for three years. So it's definitely tough, [moving to a new city]. But my situation is a lot different. As an athlete, you're used to just kind of pushing forward. Moving, I think, is a lot harder on a kid, leaving your friends that you've grown up with, your school, that's always going to be hard.
"[But] London is adjusting well," Thomas continued. "She has a lot of new friends. And family is everything to her, so that's made her transition easier, being with her closest people. That's been the biggest thing for me too. My family being able to adjust so quickly has made the transition easier."
Thomas isn't the only NBA player taking part in the "New Kid in Town" series. D'Angelo Russell is doing it in Brooklyn after being traded from the Lakers after last season. Jimmy Butler is doing it in Minneapolis after coming over from Chicago this summer. Truth is, NBA players, and all athletes really, are doing more of this stuff than you tend to hear about. It's unfortunate that the few athletes who are doing the wrong things, getting arrested or whatever, end up in the headlines more often than the ones doing the right things. But don't be fooled. By and large, these professional athletes realize how fortunate their lives are, and they go out of their way to help others when and where they can. Isaiah Thomas is clearly one of the good guys.
