Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas received a call from his agent, Sam Goldfeder, around 6 p.m. on Thursday telling him he had been named an NBA All-Star. Then Thomas just had to keep quiet about the news for one more hour until TNT made the official announcement.
One of Thomas’s first calls was to his father, James Thomas, back home in Tacoma. The message was short and to the point.
“I did it,’’ he said. “I’m there. I’m there.’’
Isaiah gathered with his family for the 7 p.m. broadcast and told his two young sons, James and Jaiden, that their father was about to be on television. Then the show began and Thomas was not among the first names announced.
“They were mad because it was taking so long,’’ Thomas said in a telephone interview late Thursday night. “So they went to go play with their toys.’’
When Thomas finally showed up on the screen as an All-Star, the magnitude of the moment hit him. And his phone began to buzz and did not stop.
He heard from boxing champion Floyd Mayweather. He heard from All-Stars DeMarcus Cousins, Chris Paul, and Kyle Lowry. He heard from fellow Seattle-area pros Jamal Crawford, Jason Terry, Brandon Roy, and Nate Robinson. He heard from old teammates and staff members from the Kings and the Suns. He heard from Celtics coach Brad Stevens, and his group text message string with his Celtics teammates exploded.
At home, Thomas’s celebration was somewhat muted. He helped put his boys to bed and then settled in to watch the Knicks face the Raptors. But the outpouring of support was satisfying enough.
“It’s crazy to get this much love,’’ he said. “Everybody’s just so happy for me, and I’ve never been in a situation where just from top to bottom guys are genuinely happy for me. It’s an unbelievable feeling. It’s a blessing.’’
Thomas is the ninth under-6-foot player ever to be named an All-Star, and the first since Terrell Brandon of the Cavaliers in 1997. He is just the second player 5-9 or shorter to be selected, joining former Houston Rockets guard Calvin Murphy, who was picked in 1979.
Thomas said he had always hoped to become an All-Star, but that it truly became a focus during his training last summer. He told Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge about his goal. He told Stevens. He told anyone who would listen.
“I knew with the opportunity I had with the Celtics, with the way they let me play my game, I knew it was finally realistic,’’ Thomas said.
This season he is averaging 21.6 points, 6.6 assists, and 3 rebounds per game. As his sparkling season unfolded, the buzz and momentum surrounding his All-Star candidacy swelled.
His teammates and coaches vouched for him. Mayweather pumped him up on social media. Opposing players told him he deserved to be an All-Star. The Celtics’ public relations staff even sent a list of his accomplishments to other Eastern Conference teams, hoping it might help sway some votes.
Through it all, though, Thomas tried not to let his hopes rise too far, mostly because he is so familiar with what it feels like to be overlooked, to be doubted. Eventually, though, his accomplishments and the Celtics’ success became too much to ignore.
But even on the eve of his first selection, he had no trouble finding new goals.
“You don’t want to just be a one-time All-Star,’’ he said. “I want this to be an annual thing. And there’s so much more I can still improve. I’m still young. I’m just gonna keep going from here, and I want to win a championship.’’
James Thomas was overwhelmed as he considered how far Isaiah has come. He remembered how he would hang from a chin-up bar as a child, hoping it would make him taller. He remembered the anxious moments during the 2011 NBA Draft, when he worried his son would not be chosen, only to see him selected by the Sacramento Kings with the 60th and final pick. He remembered the day last February when Isaiah was traded to the Celtics, the day everything changed.
“This is really more than a dream,’’ James Thomas said by phone from Tacoma. “This is like a fantasy or something. I’m just walking around the house smiling and smiling and knowing this is my son, my kid.
“As a parent I think I’ve always looked at my son as a superstar who never got the full respect as one, even though he was one. It’s always been that he’s too small or too short or this just ain’t gonna work. He’s 5-9; he’s not gonna be able to make it. It’s always been there. It’s just finally the world recognized he’s not just a 5-9 player; he’s a superstar.’’
In Tacoma, of course, Isaiah Thomas remains a favorite son.
“This delights our whole city, our whole little city,’’ his father said. “I’d be surprised if they didn’t try to make a billboard for him here.’’
Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @adamhimmelsbach.
