Doc Rivers’s Lofty Comparison for Cam Thomas Reflects Bucks’ High Hopes for Newly-Signed Guard

The Bucks played the Magic on Wednesday night and were the unexpected beneficiaries of a vintage Cam Thomas game.

Thomas, a sparkplug scoring guard who was released by the Nets at the trade deadline, signed with the Bucks as a free agent last weekend. Milwaukee was at the center of the deadline as multiple teams tried to pry Antetokounmpo out of the only city he’s ever played in, but the Bucks elected to hang onto their star. They failed to make any other meaningful moves so the Thomas addition represented the only reinforcements the roster would be getting as the 22–30 Bucks try to turn the season around. While very few midseason free agent acquisitions wind up making a difference for their teams, Milwaukee hoped a change of scenery would lead Thomas to rediscover his form as a walking tinder box who is capable of spewing fire and putting up points in bunches at any given moment.

That didn’t happen in Thomas’s debut. He played 13 minutes and scored four points while going 1-for-5 from the field on Monday against Orlando. Wednesday, however, brought everything the Bucks could dream of.

Thomas exploded for 34 points in 25 minutes, showcasing the special shot-making that earned him a reputation as an archetypical microwave scorer. He hit 12 of his 20 shots from the floor and got points every which way, from deep jumpers off the dribble to acrobatic layups that gently kissed off the glass and into the hoop. It was a truly elite show of scoring—and the Bucks needed every bit of it in what wound up only being an eight-point victory.

Just pure, uncut buckets.
Toughest shot-taker, shot-maker in the business.
God bless.pic.twitter.com/nrr3veo2Oy
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) February 12, 2026

The play was so inspiring for coach Doc Rivers that he offered up an incredibly lofty comparison for Thomas after the game.

“I’ve had Jamal Crawford. I had Lou Williams. And now, I have Cam Thomas,” Rivers said to reporters following the win.

“They’re similar, but they’re all different in their own ways. Cam wants to do right. He wants to play well. You can see that. And we’re going to give him every opportunity. I mean, the guy is a natural scorer, and you can see that.”

It sets quite a bar for Thomas. Crawford and Williams are the standard for off-the-bench scorers and won a combined half-dozen Sixth Man of the Year awards between them. But Rivers’s quote reflects just how much the Bucks are banking on Thomas’s talent, both in the present and the future.

Bucks’ hopes rest on Cam Thomas as they await Giannis Antetokounmpo’s return

In the short-term Milwaukee is praying Thomas can keep the team afloat until Giannis Antetokounmpo returns from his calf strain sometime in the next month. The roster just doesn’t offer enough scoring pop to keep up with opponents without the Greek superstar in the mix. The Bucks are 7–15 sans Antetokounmpo in the lineup and average 108 points per game with him on the sideline, which would rank 29th in the NBA this year over the full season. Milwaukee has to make up ground in the standings while he continues to recover from injury; entering Thursday the team is two games out of the play-in tournament and seven games back of the 76ers in sixth, the final automatic postseason spot.

Given the hole the Bucks have dug, acquiring more talent at the deadline was a must. But the uncertainty of the Antetokounmpo situation combined with the paltry state of Milwaukee’s assets meant there were no moves to be made. Instead there’s only Thomas. If he can’t consistently step up and generate points off the bench each night there is nobody else Rivers can turn to; the Bucks rank 22nd in the NBA in bench points per night.

Thomas will be relied upon just as heavily when Antetokounmpo returns. For all of Milwaukee’s struggles without the “Greek Freak” this isn’t exactly a great team with him on the floor, either. The Bucks are an even .500 in the 30 games Antetokounmpo has played this year. That’s good enough to squeak into the Eastern Conference playoff bracket but not really the profile of a team capable of making a deep playoff run.

And thus, the crux of the matter with Thomas—the scoring punch he can bring could help the Bucks avoid another embarrassing early playoff burnout. And that could change everything with Antetokounmpo.

Amidst all the rumors flying throughout the year, one aspect of Antetokounmpo’s stance has been consistent: he wants to win. He loves the city of Milwaukee and doesn’t “want” to leave, but will if he feels he’ll no longer be part of a competitive team. The Bucks declined to trade him at the deadline and that left everyone in the NBA world assuming a summer sweepstakes will follow, where the two-time MVP is traded for a godfather package in the offseason. This reality feels all but inevitable if Milwaukee misses the playoffs entirely. But if the Bucks qualify for postseason play thanks to a great stretch of scoring with Thomas that lifts the burden off Antetokounmpo and shows him the franchise isn’t fated for the lottery in the years coming? It might change his mind. Maybe not. But it might.

The Bucks clearly are not eager to trade Antetokounmpo. If so, they would have pulled the trigger already. They want to keep their homegrown star in town. From where we are currently standing, the only way that happens is if Milwaukee makes noise in the playoffs. And the only way that happens is if Thomas proves to be a diamond in the rough capable of dropping 20 points off the bench each night.

It’s quite a bet to make given his ball-dominant tendencies, his burnout in Brooklyn and complete lack of defensive impact. But the Bucks are in a corner without many options. Thomas is their best, and possibly last, hope to push for the playoffs and make a case for Antetokounmpo to stick around a while yet. No pressure, though.

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