Kyrie Irving who? On the same day that the star guard’s trade to the Dallas Mavericks was made official, Cam Thomas continued to do his thing for the Brooklyn Nets.
The 21-year-old former first-round pick from LSU posted a career-high 44 points in his last outing against the Washington Wizards on Saturday. That game came with Irving, who had just requested a trade, sidelined to a “calf injury.”
With Irving now headed to Big D and Kevin Durant still sidelined to injury, Brooklyn was relying on Thomas to score Monday against the Los Angeles Clippers.
The wing did not disappoint. Thomas dropped 47 points on 15-of-29 shooting, including 7-of-11 from three-point range. The talented youngster was absolutely on one inside Barclays Center in Brooklyn despite the Nets falling short.
We’re talking about hitting from just inside the logo.
The dude was also taking it to the hoop off the dribble for the basket and the harm.
Was Kyrie Irving actually holding Cam Thomas back? In a day filled with hot takes, that might be the hottest of them all. It did come out on social media at times as Thomas was dominating. It’s also about as ridiculous as it gets.
Even then, Thomas just needed an opportunity to prove his worth to the Nets. He had in the past dominated during Summer League play and shown himself to be a high-upside player in limited regular-season action.
- Cam Thomas stats (2022-23): 8.4 PPG, 46% shooting, 40% 3-point
Heading into Monday’s action, Thomas was averaging nearly 19 points per game in outings that he played north of 20 minutes. He might not do a whole heck of a lot on the court outside of scoring. But with Durant sidelined and Irving now in the Western Conference, Cam Thomas could loom large for the Nets.
As for the upcoming NBA trade deadline, there’s rumors that Brooklyn is going to be active after pulling off the Irving blockbuster. If the team intends to move Thomas in a trade, his past two games will indeed up the guard’s trade value.