Isaiah Thomas bares his assets in ESPN Body issue

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Isaiah Thomas took off his clothes to be the cover model for ESPN Magazine’s latest “body issue.” As well as baring (almost) all for the camera, Isaiah did have a few basketball things to say.

“I mean, the things that I’m doing — if I were 6-5 or 6-6, it would be magnified even more, talked about even more,’’ he said. “And that’s how it’s been my whole career — my whole life. I’ve never been given a fair shake, even to this day. I always say nothing’s been given to me; I always took what I believe is mine, and I always took advantage of the opportunity that I’ve got. And not to put anything against the bigger guys, but for the most part, they’re handed a lot. Us little guys in the gutter, we’re not handed anything. We’re not given the benefit of the doubt. They always overlook us.”

You’d think with all that nudity we’d get a good look at that chip that’s forever on his shoulder.

Keep on doing your thing, Isaiah. Whatever you need to do get motivated.

Meanwhile, it’s good Isaiah got the nude photo shoot out of the way now… because in a few weeks there could be a big ol’ scar on his hip. As of right now, he’s still trying to figure out if he needs surgery.

With a torn labrum in his hip, Thomas is still a few weeks away from determining if he will need surgery or not. He said it has felt a lot better, but he still can’t run.

But he will coach — well, when he has to.

“I let the players play,” Thomas joked. “It is a player’s game. I am going to be chilling.”

A few weeks away is the middle of July. If he decides to have surgery and it happens immediately, then he will almost certainly miss playing time.

Here’s some medical info on arthroscopic hip surgery

Crutches may be necessary after your procedure. In some cases, they are needed only until any limping has stopped. If you required a more extensive procedure, however, you may need crutches for 1 to 2 months.

Rehabilitation Exercise
Your surgeon will develop a rehabilitation plan based on the surgical procedures you required. In most cases, physical therapy is necessary to achieve the best recovery. Specific exercises to restore your strength and mobility are important. Your therapist can also guide you with additional do’s and dont’s during your rehabilitation.

OK so that’s the plan for a normal person. Even IF we say “well Isaiah’s a world-class athlete with world class surgeons and treatment so his timetable will be quicker,” there is still a significant amount of time necessary to be ready to play professional basketball.

A month on crutches, then rehab, THEN training… I have a hard time believing he’ll be NBA ready at the start of the season. He’ll have missed an entire summer of preparation… he can’t just dive into basketball again.

Of course, this is all if he needs surgery. If he’s lucky, he can escape with rehab.

Let’s hope.

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