On October 30, the Brooklyn Nets defeated the Charlotte Hornets 133-121 to earn their first victory of the season. Cam Thomas scored 33 points, his third straight 30-point performance to begin the season. Cam has taken the NBA and its fans by storm with his brilliant performances.
Despite having to play with a smaller lineup due to Cam Johnson’s calf strain and Nic Claxton’s ankle sprain, the Nets still dominated the Hornets early in the game. Once more, Thomas, 22, was at the center of it. He has been trusted by the coaches to do well in their absence.
Cam Thomas was a scoring machine in the @BrooklynNets win in Charlotte!
🔥 33 PTS
🔥 10/17 FG
🔥 58% FG pic.twitter.com/xwPkPfTFJr— NBA (@NBA) October 31, 2023
This is Thomas’ third game in a row starting the year with 30 or more points. With Shaquille O’Neal as the only younger player to have achieved his goal in NBA history, he is the second youngest. With this feat, he now joins the exclusive club alongside Shaquille O’Neal.
“He’s gaining an extreme amount of trust with his teammates. We know he has the ability to score the basketball, but it’s not forced. It’s within the flow of our offense,” Coach Vaughn said postgame. “At certain times, we need him to get a bucket and he’s capable of doing that also.
Jacque Vaughn sums up Cam Thomas’ growth early this season well in this postgame quote:
“We know he has the ability to score the basketball, but it’s not forced. It’s within the flow of our offense. And then at certain times, we need him to get a bucket and he’s capable of doing… pic.twitter.com/5wLX3IHIrR
— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) October 31, 2023
So he’s learning how to survey the game. When he’s needed, when he’s a facilitator when he’s getting to the paint, which he’s done at a high level. So he’s just continuing to grow as a third-year player and I’m happy to see it.” Vaughn said
Now that Thomas has everyone’s attention, there will be more pressure on the youngster’s shoulders to deliver day in and day out on the biggest stage. He will have to prove himself that he is not a one-game wonder and is the real deal.
Cam Thomas’ key to early success with the Brooklyn Nets
Cam has been going places in the NBA with his thunderous start to the season with the Brooklyn Nets. He has been performing extremely well and has gathered the fans’ attention worldwide. After the match against the Hornets, postgame he prompted that his key to early success is “patience”.
.@Meghan_Triplett spoke with Cam Thomas discussing the Nets first win this season. #NETSonYES pic.twitter.com/sbDmuCOCjU
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) October 31, 2023
“I’m just reading the defense and letting everything come to me,” he said. “Not forcing anything or rushing anything, because that’s how you get in trouble because then the defense can load up on you. So my main thing has been just making the right reads for my teammates.”
With his limited opportunities, Thomas has amassed a staggering amount of scoring records because of his exceptional efficiency. Last season, he established himself as the youngest rookie in the history of the NBA to score 40 points or more in three consecutive games.
In Brooklyn’s season-opening loss to Cleveland he scored 36 points, the highest point total for a player off the bench in team history. In addition, he made NBA history by being the first Net to start a season with 30 points in back-to-back games. It remains to be seen how he performs over the season against the big guns in the NBA.