Nov 16, 2019; Dallas, TX, USA; Toronto Raptors guard Matt Thomas (21) shoots a three as center Marc Gasol (33) is fouled by Dallas Mavericks center Maxi Kleber (42) during the second quarter at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
Former Iowa State shooting guard Matt Thomas was signed in the off-season by the defending NBA champion Toronto Raptors after two seasons of playing ball in Liga ACB, the top professional basketball division in Spain. At the time, many Raptors fans had no clue who Thomas was or how he’d be able to fill any ounce of the production that was vacated by losing star forward Kawhi Leonard and sharpshooter Danny Green to free agency.
Now, after about a month of the 2019-20 NBA season, Thomas is no longer unknown.
The Onalaska, Wisconsin product has started his NBA career red-hot, having connected on over 60 percent of his shots from the field, including a blistering 57.9 percent from 3-point range (11-for-19).
Last night’s performance against the Mavericks was Thomas’ best yet. In 16 minutes of action, he connected on 4/5 shots and finished with 10 points and three rebounds. His plus/minus was +12, which led all Toronto players by a wide margin. This Thomas 3-pointer that also featured a foul drawn by Marc Gasol was his best highlight of the game:
Iowa State fans are quite familiar with Thomas’ shooting ability, but it’s taken a few games for Raptors fans to fully realize his brilliance. Luckily, Twitter exists and we can observe the realization as it happens. Below, you can find a compilation of a bunch of NBA fans realizing Matt Thomas’ jump shot is the best thing since sliced bread.
Enjoy!
Thomas Tweets
Let’s hope for many more tweets like these this season and over the next decade. Keep it up, Matty Ice!
