Kyrie Irving who? Cam Thomas is absolutely feeling it for the Brooklyn Nets right now.
Over the last two games, there hasn’t been a player in the NBA who has been hotter. Thomas has scored 91 points total over his last two starts for the Nets. First, he dropped 44 points in an epic comeback win against the Wizards. Then he absolutely torched the Clippers with 47 points and made that game way closer than it ever should’ve been.
Thomas has found himself in some pretty legendary territory at this point. Just how legendary? Don’t worry, the stats tell us just how impossible his last two games have been.
Let’s dig into them.
Cam Thomas and LeBron James now have something in common
Cam Thomas is the youngest player in NBA history to score 40 points in back-to-back games…besides LeBron James. Only the NBA’s soon-to-be leading scorer of all-time did it earlier than Cam.
Cam Thomas (21 years, 116 days) is the 2nd youngest player in NBA history to record back-to-back 40+ point games.
Only LeBron James (21 years, 47 days and 21 years, 92 days) did it earlier. pic.twitter.com/0ix3hjfL7Z
— NBA History (@NBAHistory) February 7, 2023
Cam was told about this and he seemed honored…though he wished he was compared to Kobe Bryant instead.
Asked Cam Thomas about him joining LeBron James as the two youngest players in NBA history to score 44 points in consecutive games:
“That’s great company… I’m a Kobe guy though, so if you said Kobe I would’ve been a little more excited.” pic.twitter.com/fIpe96D708
— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) February 7, 2023
The good news for him is that, if he keeps this up for another two decades, maybe he’ll have a chance to catch LeBron in scoring.
Thomas' usage rate is through the roof right now
OK. The stat above is definitely impressive on its own, to be sure. You’re definitely doing something right any time you can get compared to an all-time great like LeBron.
But it’s not only the fact that Thomas is doing this — it’s also how he’s doing this. It’s been the Cam Thomas show in Brooklyn over the past two games.
Without Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, Thomas’ usage rate has skyrocketed to 41.3%. That number is INSANE, y’all. Like, it would by far lead the league if it were his number all season
Here are the highest usage rates in the NBA right now.
Of course, this number won’t remain in that range for Thomas — especially not once Kevin Durant gets back. But the fact that it’s even hit that point at all is beyond impressive.
His touches have absolutely skyrocketed, too
With a massive increase in usage comes a massive increase in touches. Thomas has gotten the ball a lot more over the last two games and he’s had the green light to do whatever he wants with it.
These stats from my colleague, Bryan Kalbrosky, show just how drastically his role changed over the last two games.
February 6:
Touches: 71
Sec per touch: 5.85
Dribble per touch: 5.01Averages pre-February 6:
Touches: 25.5
Sec per touch: 4.87
Dribble per touch: 4.33
This is a whole different ball game for Cam Thomas, man.
Cam Thomas' jump shot is incredible right now
Thomas has hit 23 of the 40 jump shots he’s taken over the last two games and 11 of 16 of those jumpers have been 3-pointers. The dude is simply on fire.
And it’s not like they’ve been easy shots, either. They’re from all over the floor. Here’s a look at Thomas’ shot chart from the last two games, per Statmuse.
He’s legitimately hitting from everywhere.
Thomas is creating all of this for himself
This might be the most impressive stat yet.
Thomas has made 31 shots total in the last two games. Only 25 of those shots have been assisted on, meaning someone else passed him the ball and then he made the shot. And out of those 25 makes Thomas has, 7 have been 3-pointers.
They were a bunch of pull-ups and side-steps and step-backs like these.
The biggest winner of the Kyrie Irving trade:
Cam Thomas pic.twitter.com/agOOr13vX9
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) February 7, 2023
Cam Thomas is a certified bucket. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
Will this last for Thomas?
The answer is probably not. He’s shooting incredibly well on jumpers while taking so many tough ones. Thomas is bound to regress at some point.
And once Kevin Durant returns to the lineup, Thomas’ usage will almost certainly dip down. So we won’t see him having the ball exclusively like we have over the last two games.
But what is clear now is that the Nets absolutely do have a gem in Thomas. This is someone who should be — not only playing — but starting for this team for the rest of the season. Especially since they’re without Kyrie Irving now.
So, hopefully, we’ll see what Thomas has to offer for the rest of the year. If it’s as enjoyable as what we’ve seen over these last two games, Nets fans are in for a treat.
