Amid another rough season as they fade out of the Play-In Tournament picture, the Brooklyn Nets (22-44) received brutal news on Saturday that should put the proverbial nail in the team’s coffin.
Less than 48 hours after having the best game of his career, Nets shooting guard Cam Thomas was announced to have suffered a hamstring injury during Thursday’s 116-110 loss against the Chicago Bulls. The ailment is expected to keep him out for the rest of the campaign.
“Brooklyn Nets Injury Update:
Cam Thomas has been diagnosed with a left hamstring strain. The injury occurred during Thursday night’s game at Chicago. Given the number of days remaining in the schedule and the time needed to appropriately recover, it is expected that Thomas will miss the remainder of the season,” the team wrote on social media.
The fourth-year pro recorded his first career double-double during the contest vs. the Bulls, posting a team-high 24 points on 8-for-23 shooting (3-for-9 on three-pointers) with a game-best 10 assists. Thomas added six rebounds, one block and one steal in 32 minutes.
Thomas Posting Career-Best Numbers Amid Injury-Ravaged Season
Brooklyn selected the native of Japan with the 27th overall pick during the 2021 NBA Draft. Thomas played in a career-high 67 contests in his 2021-22 rookie season but with the likes of James Harden and Kyrie Irving also in the backcourt, started just two games and averaged only 17.6 minutes per tilt.
The LSU product battled for playing time again during the 2022-23 campaign before breaking out last season.
Thomas led the Nets in scoring (22.5 points per game) during the 2023-24 campaign while finishing with career highs in minutes played per contest (31.4) and field goal percentage (.442) across 66 tilts (51 starts).
He’s already missed 41 games this season due to issues with his left hamstring but when he’s been on the court, Thomas has put up even better numbers than last year.
The 23-year-old paces the team again this season in points per game (career-best 24.0) and is averaging career highs in assists (3.8) and rebounds (3.3) as well.
Nets All But Out of Postseason Picture
With Thomas now likely done for the year, his days with the Nets could be numbered. Thomas is set to hit restricted free agency this summer.
Brooklyn is in 12th place in the Eastern Conference and just 1 1/2 games behind the 11th-place Toronto Raptors, but six games in back of the 10th-place Bulls, who would be the final Play-In Tournament team as of Saturday. The Nets are also tied in the standings with the Philadelphia 76ers (22-44).
Jordi Fernandez’ club appears to be in full tank mode, as they’ve gone 12-33 since the calendar flipped to 2025. More recently, Brooklyn has lost nine of its last 10, and the group has a tough schedule coming up.
Of the Nets’ next 11 games, nine of them are against teams currently in the playoff picture. The only two tilts vs. squads out of the tournament field come at home on March 26 against Toronto and on the road on March 29 vs. the Washington Wizards.
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