Isaiah Thomas has surpassed every expectation placed upon him since entering the NBA in 2011. At 5’9”, he was not an explosive leaper or a knockdown shooter from range coming out of Washington, but he did know how to play the game well.

He was selected last in that draft and has made numerous teams pay for passing him up six summers ago. This is his third NBA team in six years, but he is making a huge impact with the Celtics as they prepare to open the Eastern Conference Playoffs as the number one seed.

Thomas’ averages of 28 points and five assists per game have been a huge reason why the C’s find themselves in such a great position heading into tomorrow’s showdown with the Chicago Bulls in The Garden.

In other years, he might have been considered for MVP on the strength of having the best record in the conference and being the best player on the team. This season, all of the NBA’s MVP candidates have been doing the seemingly impossible all season.

IT was interviewed by Brian Scalabrine of CSNNE about the MVP race and the undersized point guard offered his top five in the running for the award. His list looks a lot like what the actual ranking might look like when the hardware is handed out in about a month.

The Celtics’ leader has Russell Westbrook at first, James Harden in second, himself at third, Kawhi Leonard in fourth and LeBron James rounding out the top five. All of these players are absolutely deserving to be on this list.

Westbrook broke the record for triple-doubles in a season while averaging one for the first time since Oscar Robertson nearly half a decade ago. Harden accounted for more total offense by a player than anyone since ‘Tiny’ Nate Archibald.

Kawhi is the most important player on a San Antonio Spurs team that was on the Golden State Warriors’ heels all season for the best overall record. LeBron James is still the best overall player in the world.

All of these campaigns are worthy, but Thomas knows that the Celtics have more things to worry about than winning an MVP trophy. He is focused on taking the C’s to the Finals for the first time since 2010.

If he can accomplish that, it will be way more meaningful to his franchise than him claiming a trophy concerned with individual achievement.