Isaiah Thomas claims Celtics 'probably' would've won a title if he wasn't traded

The Boston Celtics paid tribute to former local star Isiah Thomas in a video on Tuesday and the two-time All-Star speculated he could have won a championship with the city if he wasn’t traded.

Returning to the Garden as a member of the Denver Nuggets, the Celtics honoured him with a 90-second clip on centre court.

Fans chanted “I-T, I-T” as his teammates embraced him at the scorer’s table at the conclusion of the timeout.

Following the emotional tribute, Thomas speculated what could’ve been if he wasn’t traded from the Celtics.

“Yeh, we would’ve probably won a championship already,” he said.

Thomas was mocked on social media after the claim.

Second return

This was actually the second time that Thomas visited the Celtics since the trade, although he was inactive and recovering from a hip injury last January. Thomas made the trip but requested that the team not make him a tribute video since his family wouldn’t be there to watch him play.

Even if he only played 179 games with the Celtics, Thomas’ candle burned bright with near-rock star popularity. Thomas made a pair of All-Star teams and averaged 28.9 points per game in the 2016-17 season, finishing fifth in MVP voting.

“Everywhere I go in this city, especially when I was playing here at the end of my time here, my family couldn’t go too many places without being noticed and asked for pictures and things like that,” Thomas said before the game. “This city is one of a kind. I’ve said that since I’ve been here. All I did was go out there and give 100 per cent each and every time out, and they fell in love with that. That love, like I keep saying, is genuine, and there’s nothing fake about it.”

With Yahoo Sports US/Ben Weinrib