Polarizing Nets guard out at least 3-4 weeks with hamstring strain

The 24-year-old sustained the injury in the first quarter of Wednesday’s game against Indiana. He was able to leave the court on his own, though he did not return to Brooklyn’s first win of the season.

It’s a tough blow for Thomas, who has now strained his left hamstring four different times in the past year. He was limited to just 25 games last season due to the same issue.

There could be significant financial ramifications as a result of Thomas’ latest hamstring strain — he will be an unrestricted free agent in 2026 after signing his one-year, $6M qualifying offer as a restricted free agent this past offseason.

The 27th overall pick in the 2021 draft, Thomas has become a polarizing player during his time with the Nets. While he’s an undeniably gifted scorer, he doesn’t contribute in many other areas. In seven healthy games this season, the former LSU guard averaged 24.4 points, 2.9 assists and 1.6 rebounds in 31.6 minutes per contest, with a shooting line of .408/.356/.875.

If Thomas is able to return in exactly four weeks, which seems very optimistic given the repeated issues he’s had with his left hamstring, he will miss Brooklyn’s next 14 games.

Terance Mann, Tyrese Martin, Drake Powell and Egor Demin are among the Nets who could receive more minutes and/or touches with Thomas out for at least the next few weeks.