Welcome to all there is. Wherever you are in your grief, you're not alone. I was talking with a friend of mine who doesn't listen to this podcast, and he's experienced a number of losses in his life, but he really doesn't want to think much about them, which I certainly understand. He asked me, isn't it depressing to do all these interviews all the time? And I thought about it for a moment, and then I told them the truth,

which is it's not. It's sad often. It's emotional, but these are the most real conversations

that I have with people. It's one human being connecting with and learning from another about a

fundamental experience that we all share.

My friend didn't really want to hear more about it, but I was kind of on a roll, so I kept going.

But what is depressing to me, I said.

What's depressed me much of my life is not having these conversations, except with myself in my head.

The loneliness of that.

That, to me, is what is depressing.

I really love the conversation that you're about to hear. It's with Isaiah Thomas. He's a two-time NBA All-Star, and the fact

that he's five-foot-nine inches makes that even more impressive. But what so impressed me about him

is his willingness to speak about loss and his vulnerability.

Two of Isaiah's three sisters have died.

His sister, Laquisha, died in 2024.

And his youngest sister, China, died in 2017, on the eve of the NBA playoffs.

She was killed in a car crash in Washington State.

She was about to turn 23.

The day after China died, Isaiah played in game one of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Chicago Bulls. He played with China's name written on his

shoes, and in 38 minutes he scored 33 points. A few weeks later on what would have been China's

23rd birthday, Isaiah scored a career high 53 points in an overtime victory against the Washington Wizards.

I spoke to Isaiah Thomas May 1st the day before what would have been China's 32nd birthday.

Can you tell me about China?

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