Chyna Thomas, sister of Boston Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas, died early Saturday morning, leading to an outpouring of support for Thomas ahead of Sunday’s Game 1 against the Chicago Bulls. Ahead of Game 2, on Tuesday, Celtics head coach Brad Stevens announced that if the schedule allows for it, the team hopes go to Tacoma, Washington to attend Chyna’s funeral.
#Celtics coach Brad Stevens: if schedule allows, hope team can go to Tacoma for funeral of Chyna Thomas to support Isaiah.
— Scott Souza (@Scott_Souza) April 17, 2017
It’s great to see this type of unity among teams. We hear all the time that the NBA is a family, and instances like this prove it. The Celtics have coalesced around Thomas in his time of need. Stevens deferred to him when it came to playing on Sunday and it seems likely that the entire team will be at the funeral, whenever that may be.
Given that players and coaches from across the league came to Ingrid Williams’ funeral last season, flying into Oklahoma City and back home with games that night, it’s hard to see a scenario where the schedule doesn’t allow for the Celtics to be in Tacoma.