Isaiah Thomas has had a difficult 12 months as his career took an unexpected turn following a fantastic year with the Boston Celtics. 

After leading the C's to the Eastern Conference Finals and finishing in the top five in MVP voting, the veteran was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers. 

With Thomas suffering from a hip injury, they saw an opportunity to capture Kyrie Irving after he requested a trade and pounced on it. 

Thomas' spell in Cleveland didn't go well and didn't last long as he struggled to fit on the team and find any rhythm when he returned in January. 

After just 15 games, the Cavs traded him to the Los Angeles Lakers where he ended the campaign. 

But in March, he was ruled out for the remainder of the season after undergoing arthroscopic surgery to his right hip. 

His stock diminished rapidly and as a free agent this summer, he didn't see many offers flooding in.

Therefore, he accepted a one-year deal with the Denver Nuggets for the veteran minimum of just $2.4 million. 

Rise and fall

In Boston, he became a two-time All-Star and was seen as one of the top point guards in the league. 

There aren't many who will share that opinion now but despite his nightmare year, the 29-year-old believes he's the best in the league. 

In a recent appearance on comedian Kevin Hart's 'Cold as Balls' show, he listed his top point guards in the NBA and ranked himself as number one. 

He then followed that up with Stephen Curry, Kyrie Irving, Russell Westbrook, John Wall and Damian Lillard in that order. 

Thomas has never been short on self-confidence so this answer shouldn't come as a huge surprise. 

NBA stars also have a lot of pride so it's rare to see them admitting that any player is better than them. 

But it's clear that IT isn't the same player he was two years ago and even then, he wouldn't have appeared in a top five list. 

To put it into perspective, Curry won back-to-back MVP awards in 2015 and 2016 and Westbrook secured the honour in 2017 after averaging a triple-double. 

For Thomas to put himself ahead of those two is unrealistic, to say the least, as he's simply not on that level. 

But there's no doubt that the All-NBA guard has carved out a terrific career for himself that nobody could've predicted after he was drafted last in 2011. 

He's fought against the odds throughout his time in the NBA and proven people wrong on many occasions. 

Isaiah will now have to do it again as he aims to rebuild his career in Denver.

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