Isaiah still long on smiles - TheNewsTribune.com

PORTLAND â€" Isaiah Thomas recalls the exact moment the coach sent him in with his first assignment in an NBA game: Go in and guard Kobe Bryant.

Oh, he’d heard such things before: In his sleep, or in those pretend games every kid plays in the driveway when he’s alone and nobody can hear his fictional play-by-play.

Thomas, the rookie guard for the Sacramento Kings, admits that it was such a stunning request that he didn’t exactly respond with as much cool as he would have liked.

“Me?” he asked, turning to look behind him to be certain the coach wasn’t talking to somebody else.

So, after you picked your jaw off the court and your heart stopped beating, how’d you do?

“I did pretty good,” he said. “He was backing me down and I just kept smiling.”

Thomas has played with a disarming smile since back in his days at Curtis High and the University of Washington, and perhaps it disrupted Bryant’s rhythm.

“He was 1-for-4 against me, and shot all fadeaways,” Thomas said. “That was the first game of the season and I thought … ah … I’m really here.”

Monday night Thomas was in Portland, where the Kings lost to the Trail Blazers, 101-89. Thomas scored 11 points with eight assists and three rebounds in 28 minutes.

As the last player taken in the draft, and standing just 5-foot-9, Thomas continues to be considered a long shot. But he’s winning over his coaches and his teammates, and has had some impressive performances (20 points and six assists against Toronto, for instance).

“He has a lot of poise on the floor,” Kings coach Keith Smart said, adding that Thomas has earned so much trust that “… I have had him in closing the game out and helping us win games.”

Smart laughed when he talked of Thomas’ work ethic and competitiveness. “He walks by me during timeouts saying, ‘I’m ready, Coach. I’m ready, Coach’. ”

And to a surprising extent, he has been ready.

He’s shooting only 31 percent from the field, and he’s had to learn that NBA players are athletic enough that he can’t just sprint to the basket on quickness alone. He’s learned to watch film and correct the inevitable rookie mistakes.

Portland coach Nate McMillan, the former Sonics player and coach, said he’s watched Thomas “almost since he was a toddler.” Thomas, he said, is fueled by that rare inner drive that characterizes those few small players who manage to make it and stick in the NBA. “Guys like that … it’s a different confidence, a different toughness they need in order to get to this level,” he said.

Don’t expect Thomas to lose that competitive edge any time soon.

“I always know that nothing’s ever been given to me,” he said. “So when I came to training camp, I had that same chip on my shoulder. I think every day, ‘OK, here’s another stepping stone in life I’ve got to overcome.’ People say I can’t stay, or I can’t compete. Fine, I’m going to try to prove you wrong.”

He already has, to some degree. The Kings drafted a higher-profile guard, BYU’s Jimmer Fredette, last year’s national player of the year. But Thomas has been getting playing time comparable to Fredette’s.

“He’s a great competitor who works hard and wants to do whatever it takes to win,” Fredette said of Thomas. “That’s a great quality to have, especially in a point guard, so the guys like him and he’s a great teammate.”

Thomas left Washington after his junior season, which made the unease of waiting for the NBA lockout to end particularly vexing. But he’s had wise counsel on life in the NBA from some of the elders in the Seattle-area basketball community, particularly Nate Robinson, Jamal Crawford and Jason Terry.

For a while Monday night, Thomas was tasked with guarding Crawford, now a guard for the Blazers.

Thomas, of course, plays close attention to the Huskies, and said he sees enough talent on that team to compete with anybody, but suspects they’re still looking to develop the necessary leadership.

His affiliation with UW goes beyond the usual alumni rooting interest: He’s still taking classes.

“I’ve got a quarter and a half to go, so I’m taking on-line classes,” he said.

His major is American ethnic studies. So, after a game guarding Kobe Bryant, you might have to hit the books?

“I’ll have homework,” he said. “OK, I might not do it right after the game, but I’ll get to it.”

Eighteen games into his NBA career, Thomas said he has those disorienting, pinch-me moments nearly every night.

“It’s such a blessing,” he said. “I wake up every day with a big smile on my face.”

He was reminded that it seems as if he wears a smile just about every day anyway.

“Yeah, that’s true, but this is different; this is a living-the-dream smile.”

Dave Boling: 253-597-8440 dave.boling@thenewstribune.com