Isaiah Thomas has returned to the Boston Celtics organization as a pro and college scout, according to league sources.

Thomas, 37, will be based in the Seattle area, his hometown, providing president of basketball operations Brad Stevens with additional coverage on the West Coast. The Celtics' regional scouting staff also includes former Hawks executive Derek Pierce in Atlanta and Keandre Ashley in Dallas.

Thomas was present at the NBA Combine in Chicago this week, where he assisted in prospect interviews and began learning the front-office evaluation process, sources said.

Acquired from the Phoenix Suns in February 2015, Thomas quickly became central to Boston's rebuild. Stevens has credited him with helping build the culture that shaped the Celtics into one of the NBA's most accomplished franchises of the past decade.

Thomas earned All-Star selections in 2015-16 and 2016-17. In the latter season he finished fifth in MVP voting and earned second-team All-NBA honors, winning over fans with an aggressive, relentless style that defied his size.

However, his time in Boston ended on difficult terms as Thomas played through a serious hip injury during the 2017 playoffs before being shut down for the final three games of a conference finals loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Thomas was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers a few months later in the deal that brought Kyrie Irving to Boston.

Hip problems limited Thomas for the remainder of his playing career. He had stints with nine franchises before his final NBA appearance with Phoenix in the 2023-24 season.