Major Sports Star Appears on ‘Law & Order: SVU’

We won’t see Isaiah Thomas on the court for a few months, but the Cleveland Cavaliers point guard was still on TV tonight. He made his acting debut in NBC’s Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

Thomas played himself in the episode titled “Complicated.”

In the episode, Olivia Benson and her team had to investigate the appearance of a young woman who was wandering through Central Park. This leads the team to re-open the 10-year-old kidnapping case of Emma Lawrence.

Her connection to Thomas is that the Emma was last seen in a Cavaliers jersey because the family moved to Brooklyn from Cleveland. As the case goes on, Olivia realizes that they may have jumped the gun on assuming the girl they found was Emma.

Thomas made a cameo to meet Emma’s family and present her with a new Cavaliers jersey.

Up Next: ‘Mayans MC’ Casts Former ‘Law & Order: SVU’ Star Danny Pino in Lead Role

This marks Thomas’ first acting gig. According to Cleveland.com, the former Boston Celtics player filmed his scenes in New York in September. His publicist told USA Today that he is a big fan of the show.

“It was everything I dreamed of and more,” Thomas said in a statement about filming the episode. “I have even more respect for actors and actresses now, because doing the job every day is hard and you have to be locked in at all times. Just to see other professionals doing their job at the highest level is something I love. I didn’t know there were so many people involved in making the show what it is. To be a part of SVU is something I’ll tell people about forever.”

More: Brooke Shields Delivers the Twist of the Season on Last Night’s ‘SVU’

As for the next time you see Thomas on the court, the Cavs said last month they expect him to be back in January. He is recovering from his injured hip.

New episodes of SVU air on NBC at 9 p.m. Wednesdays.