How Did Former NBA Player Isaiah Thomas Get to Be Arrested on Memorial Day at Gunpoint?

Former Boston Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas detailed a chilling experience the 35-year-old encountered during Memorial Day Monday, which could’ve cost the father of two his life.

Thomas starred down the barrel of an assault rifle, held by a minor, according to the now-Phoenix Suns veteran, while innocently hanging around with friends. The incident occurred in  Tacoma, Washington, a suburb of Seattle, where Thomas was raised, leaving him in disbelief.

“Really trippin on how these young kids are moving around!!!,” Thomas wrote in a since-deleted post on X. “I really had a life changing moment yesterday where a kid pulled a AK47 out on me and the homies and if it wasn’t for who I was and him recognizing me in my own city he probably woulda ended all our lives. Be SAFE.”

The two-time All-Star has spent recent seasons working toward earning a spot, once again, on an NBA roster.

Thomas put the work in, undergoing appearances in the G League, private workouts with teams in Las Vegas, and countless social media pitches. That patience came rewarded for the 5-foot-9 Thomas, who landed a 10-day contract with the Salt Lake City Stars, the G League affiliate of the Utah Jazz, before signing with the Suns for the remainder of the 2023-24 season.

The rollercoaster road from being the face of the franchise in Boston to an All-Star fading away, back to a veteran voice in a title-contending locker room has tossed Thomas through the wringer. Yet, through it all, the already-inspirational once-NBA star, who was picked last in the 2011 draft, never tapped out.

Going through a traumatic nightmare, only to escape because of his identity as a professional athlete, left Thomas fortunate, but still concerned for a number of reasons.

“We just gotta pray for these young men!!!,” Thomas wrote in a second since-deleted post on X, per AZCentral. “God was working yesterday frfr. Damn it coulda all been over that quick smh. FOR NO REASON AT ALL!!!!!”