Denver guard Monte Morris being interviewed during the NBA 3x PH media availability. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—Monte Morris and Isaiah Thomas’ bond goes beyond being teammates.
The two spent the 2018-19 NBA season with the Denver Nuggets and while Thomas played sparingly for the club, it was Morris who provided backup firepower for the backcourt of Jamal Murray and Gary Harris.
Morris said that he and Thomas didn’t treat each other just as teammates but more of as brothers since the two had nearly too similar of a background.
“He looked to me as a little brother, and I look up to him for advice on everything on and off the court and how the NBA works,” said Morris Wednesday at Conrad Manila for the NBA 3X Philippines media availability.
“I’m a friend of his and I look forward to keeping our relationship tight. He’s my guy.”
Both Morris and Thomas were near afterthoughts of their respective draft classes after having chosen in the fringes of the second round.
Thomas was the 60th overall pick out of Washington in the 2011 Draft while Morris was the 51st overall in the 2017 edition after he played four years of collegiate bal for in Iowa State.
Their humble starts in the NBA was kept both motivated and it may be a stretch but the two also had their respective breakout seasons.
Thomas, who’s listed at 5-foot-9, was already a spitfire guard in just his third year when he averaged 20.3 points, 6.3 assists, and 1.3 steals for the Sacramento Kings but he rose to MVP caliber in the 2016-17 season averaging a career-best 28.9 points and 5.9 assists to earn the nickname the King of the Fourth.
Morris, meanwhile, was initially given a two-way contract in his rookie year during the 2017-18 season playing for both the Nuggets and the Rio Grande Valley Vipers in the NBA G-League.
The 6-foot-3 guard played just three games with the Nuggets in his rookie season but averaging 3.3 points, 2.3 assists, and 1.0 steals in 8.3 minutes of playing time but he eventually found his footing in the league in his sophomore year.
Morris bumped his playing time to 24 minutes a game and averaged 10.4 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 3.6 assists.
“Last year was my coming out party and I want to show to the people who I was,” said Morris. “Next year I will take this to another level and show them some more.”
Morris also thanked Denver head coach Mike Malone for giving him the confidence and allowing him to be himself during games.
“Early on I was uptight afraid of making any mistakes and coach Mike pulled me to his side during one of our games against Golden State and he told me ‘loosen up man! You’re here for a reason. You got out of the G-League and show everybody why you’re here.’”
Still, it wasn’t just Malone who motivated Morris throughout his sophomore season since he always had Thomas beside him every step of the way.
“He was always with me in the airport, I sit right next to him in the plane for 82 games and we go to dinner a lot,” said Morris.