In his third season in the NBA, Brooklyn Nets guard Cam Thomas just had his breakout year. Although Thomas, in only his second season in the NBA, poured 47 points on the Kawhi Leonard and Paul George-led Los Angeles Clippers, the season he just closed the chapter to was even more impressive. He went from averaging 11 points per game on 44% shooting and 36% accuracy from three in the 2022-23 season to 23 points per contest in the 2023-24 campaign. Noticeably so, his minutes increased from 16 minutes to 31. To be fair, 2024 All-Star Paul George also averaged 23 points at around 31 minutes per game.
The vastly underrated Thomas showed glimpses of his scoring abilities right out of the gates after being selected by the Nets in the 2021 NBA Draft at the Summer League. It was there where he would not only lead the entire league in scoring with 27 points per game after just leaving Baton Rouge, but he would show more promise than 2022 Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes, the 2021 top pick Cade Cunningham and second-overall selection Jalen Green.
Although the league was put on notice after Thomas’ Summer League takeover in 2021, he did not have the same fortunes when it came to minutes as Barnes, Cunningham and Green. It’s been a long time coming for Thomas after finally becoming a familiar starter for Brooklyn. In the 51 games he started this season, 22.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists per contest.
The 2025 offseason seems far, but it’s close. If Thomas and the Nets don’t agree on a contract extension between now and then, it’s safe to say that Brooklyn could lose out on not only one of the most promising players on the team, but also one of the top players in that free agent class.
Whether the Nets want to follow in the footsteps of the Toronto Raptors by building a team around Thomas — especially considering Ben Simmons’ future with Brooklyn is also up in the air with his contract expiring in 2025 — it’s going to be very interesting to see how Nets GM Sean Marks plays this out.
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