Getty James Johnson #16, Cam Thomas #24 and Kevin Durant #7 of the Brooklyn Nets reacts during the second half against the Atlanta Hawks
Cam Thomas of the Brooklyn Nets continues to impress this offseason. After a strong Summer League last season for the Nets, Thomas earned Co-MVP honors at the Las Vegas Summer League after averaging 27 points per game. This season, Thomas was back part of the Nets Summer League team and again was selected to the NBA 2K23 All-Summer League First Team.
Thomas averaged 27.5 points per game in this summer’s campaign in Vegas. As a second-year pro, the 6-foot-3 guard continued to prove he is a skilled scorer. The team still wants to see more of the guard’s playmaking ability this summer, a note that brought a viral reaction from the Nets summer league star.
Cam Thomas Named to NBA 2K23 All-Summer League First Team
On July 18, it was announced by NBA Communications that Thomas was named to the NBA 2K23 All-Summer League First Team honors. The news was announced via tweet with the full team of five in the graphic.
“Tari Eason (Houston Rockets), Quentin Grimes (New York Knicks), Sandro Mamukelashvili (Milwaukee Bucks), Keegan Murray (Sacramento Kings) and Cam Thomas (Brooklyn Nets) have been named to the NBA 2K23 All-Summer League First Team.” NBA PR tweeted.
Tari Eason (Houston Rockets), Quentin Grimes (New York Knicks), Sandro Mamukelashvili (Milwaukee Bucks), Keegan Murray (Sacramento Kings) and Cam Thomas (Brooklyn Nets) have been named to the NBA 2K23 All-Summer League First Team.
The Nets star is listed in good company with the other summer league standouts. His style of play earned him the nickname “Mr. Summer League” on a call from ESPN’s Monica McNutt. A well-deserved nickname for how he has played the last two years, but the Nets likely hope this is the last summer league appearance for Thomas. Thomas impressed last season for the Nets when he played extended minutes during February when the Nets were battling injuries. He averaged 16.5 and 3 rebounds per game while averaging nearly 27 minutes of play last February.
His impressive play last summer league and in appearances for the Nets in the regular season has him on the radar of other NBA teams.
Cam Thomas Possible Trade Target
Earlier this month reports from our own Sean Deveney confirmed that multiple teams reached out to the Nets last season to enquire about landing the Nets impressive young guard.
“We called about him last year. I think just about everyone called about him at the trade deadline last year if you were looking for young players. He wasn’t going to play if they were gonna make a Finals run if they had everyone. So we wanted to give up a veteran and take him back. Didn’t happen,” one Eastern Conference head coach told Deveney.
It’s his talent that has the Nets wanting to keep the star. Durant also helped keep Thomas out of any trade deadline deals last season. The Eastern Conference head coach spoke to confirm that Thomas could be a big part of Brooklyn’s plans next year.
“He plays with great pace, and he has a knack for scoring the ball, obviously. Pure scorer. But they were not moving him last year, they made that pretty clear. Now, it would be even tougher to get him away from them because they don’t know what is next with KD and (Kyrie) Irving. He could be a guy who gets a lot of minutes with them next year, they’re not looking to give him away. They don’t want to rebuild, they are not trying to do a fire sale there. They want to stay in the mix in the East. He can help them with that.” the coach continued.
There’s no question that Thomas can score at all professional levels. Summer League, the G-League, and the NBA, all of which Thomas has shown an ability to score in volume. If the young guard can step up as a facilitator and defensively, he will likely get major NBA minutes, and that is what the Nets hope summer league helped him do.