Nets’ Cam Thomas Teaching Draft Patience

Overtaking our weekly NBA rookie spotlight is the fiery performances of Brooklyn Nets’ second-year guard Cam Thomas.

On Draft Digest, we usually cover prospects through their pre-draft process and into their rookie season, before finally releasing them to only occupying our re-drafts. But Thomas’ case is simply too exciting an opportunity to pass up.

Drafted 27th overall by Brooklyn in the 2021 NBA Draft, Thomas was one of the more gifted pure scorers in recent memory. As a rookie at LSU, Thomas averaged a remarkable 23.0 points per game on 40-32-88 splits. It’s not often a freshman is able to get that kind of opportunity, much less make the most of it.

But Thomas did just that.

As a rookie, he saw extremely limited production for a Brooklyn team desperately searching for the playoffs.

Now that the headliners, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, are gone, Thomas has come into his own. Since Irving requested and was subsequently traded, Thomas has averaged 32.3 points in six games.

After a pair of pretty solid performances, Thomas poured on 44, 47 and 43 in consecutive games, becoming the youngest to do in a 3-game span.

In his last game, Thomas shot just 3-for-16 overs, but still finished 13-for-13 from the charity stripe to finish with a productive 20 points, six rebounds and four assists in an 11-point win over Chicago.

Had they offloaded Thomas for win-now assets in hopes of appeasing their former stars, they’d likely be regretting it soon after.

Of course, there’s issues with Thomas’ game, too. He’s far from a finished product in really any area outside of scoring. But it seems at least for now Brooklyn has another solid piece with which to move forward into the future with.

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