Isaiah Thomas: NBA is excited for Celtics to be good

One of the league's marquee franchises is back on the map.

Having added Al Horford to their young 48-win core, the Boston Celtics are ready for primetime. The NBA rewarded Boston with 22 national-television appearances for the upcoming season, and they'll even be featured on Christmas Day.

Isaiah Thomas is thrilled to be in the spotlight.

"The NBA's excited," Thomas told ESPN's Chris Forsberg. "Boston's almost back. We go to 22 national TV games. That means something. That says a lot, especially when you're on national TV and the NBA puts you on there. We're excited about it. I'm excited about the opportunity to put a smile on more people's faces around the world."

The Celtics played seven games before a national audience last season. Their appearances will rise threefold with another All-Star on the billing.

"We got a big addition in Al Horford. Got my guy Gerald Green coming back to Boston," Thomas said. "I'm excited. I think we've got the right pieces to go forward."

That being said, awarding national appearances isn't necessarily meritocratic. Boston is a marquee market, so the league will always be eager to put them in the spotlight - especially when the team is competitive.

But other teams in less glamorous locales won't get the same benefit. The Toronto Raptors, for example, will only be shown nationally six times despite winning 56 games and coming within two games of reaching the NBA Finals last season.

Boston finished with eight fewer wins and have been bounced in the first round of the playoffs in each of the last two seasons.

It pays to be in a bigger market.