Casual fans might not know the name Cam Thomas yet, but he's quietly turned into one of the better pure scorers in the league.
The 22-year-old guard has already put up over 40 points twice this season, and his 21.0 points per game is made even more impressive by the fact that he logs only 28.8 minutes a night. He has alternated between the Nets' starting and bench units as head coach Jacque Vaughn has struggled to find lineups that work. What has been consistent is that when Thomas is in the game, he's getting shots up.
Here's what you need to know about Brooklyn's microwave scorer.
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Who is Cam Thomas?
Thomas is a 22-year-old shooting guard born in Yokosuka, Japan — his mother was in the army and stationed there when she gave birth to him. He played high school basketball in Virginia, transferring as a junior to the prestigious Oak Hill Academy where he played alongside Cole Anthony and Kofi Cockburn.
Thomas was a top college recruit, finishing as Oak Hill's all-time leading scorer ahead of players such as Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony.
Thomas went on to play one season at LSU. He declared for the 2021 NBA Draft, where he was selected by the Nets with the 27th pick.
Cam Thomas college stats
Thomas was every bit a scorer at the college level as he is in the NBA. He averaged 23.0 points per game for a good LSU team, where he was named to the First Team All-SEC.
| PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3PT% | FT% | |
| Cam Thomas | 23.0 | 3.4 | 1.4 | 40.6 | 32.5 | 88.2 |
Teams knew that Thomas was a scorer, but there were concerns about his shot selection and how well-rounded of a player he could become, leading him to fall to the end of the first round.
Cam Thomas scouting report
The first thing that must be discussed with Thomas is his incredible scoring output. He had a 45-point outburst against the Bucks in his seventh game of the 2023-24 season. The Nets don't have a lot of shot creation on their roster, so Thomas is getting the opportunity to cook with the ball.
Thomas is a throwback player, taking many of his attempts from the midrange. He's pretty accurate on those looks, hitting 44.3 percent on the year. He can stop on a dime and rise to get to that shot whenever he likes, which is often. His go-to weapon is to attack closeouts and pull-up at the elbow, where he can knock it down no matter how well-contested he is.
Thomas is also willing to put his head down and get to the basket, where he's a decent finisher. He's converting on 62.5 percent of his looks, ranking in the 46th percentile of guards. That aggression is helping him get to the line a ton — he's averaging a career-high 4.8 free throw attempts per game by inviting contact on his drives.
Thomas isn't a great 3-point shooter, hitting only 33.1 percent of his attempts in the pros and 32.5 percent in college. But part of that low percentage is due to the degree of difficulty in his looks. He willingly takes tough stepbacks, shots from way beyond the line or attempts with a hand directly in his face.
Thomas isn't the best defender at this stage of his career, which led to limited playing time in his first two years. At 6-3, he doesn't have great size and he can get targeted late in games. He has lacked focus on that end of the floor in the past as well, but he has gotten better according to coach Vaughn.
“For me, I was looking at the defensive end of the floor,’’ Vaughn said of Thomas' preseason play, as written by Nets Daily. “Was he in the right position? Were the boxouts the way they were supposed to be? Were the matchups the way they were supposed to be? Was he detailed in his approach? Those things were really good.”
Thomas' improved defense has finally earned him regular minutes, and his microwave scoring is keeping him in the lineup. He's a great tough shot-maker who loves to pull up from anywhere on the floor.
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Cam Thomas contract
Thomas is in the third year of his rookie-scale contract that pays him $2.2 million this season. He will make $4.0 million in 2024-25, at which point he will be extension-eligible or enter restricted free agency in the summer of 2025.
| Season | Salary |
| 2021-22 | $2,036,280 |
| 2022-23 | $2,138,160 |
| 2023-24 | $2,240,160 |
| 2024-25 | $4,041,249 |
| 2025-26 | RFA |
Cam Thomas 2023-24 season stats
- 21.0 points per game
- 2.6 rebounds per game
- 2.4 assists per game
- 0.6 steals per game
- 0.3 blocks per game
- 1.8 turnovers per game
- 44.4 percent field goal shooting
- 34.9 percent 3-point shooting
- 82.0 percent free throw shooting
