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Over the years, Brooklyn Nets shooting guard James Harden has proven himself to be one of the best shooters in the NBA.
His scoring prowess has never been in doubt, and it’s been one of his strongest traits ever since he entered the league as a beardless rookie with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Throughout his career, he has only gotten better at his craft, and now he’s capable of putting up at least 30 points on any given night. As it turns out, Brooklyn Nets rookie Cameron Thomas might have a similar career trajectory as Harden.
That’s definitely big talk comparing a rookie to someone of Harden’s stature, but Thomas is already ahead of him in one key category according to the superstar himself.
Thomas a Better Shooter Than Harden Was?
GettyCameron Thomas of the Brooklyn Nets poses for a portrait during the 2021 NBA rookie photo shoot.
Thomas is coming into the NBA after spending just a single year at LSU where he averaged 23 points per game and was named to First-Team All SEC for his standout season.
Harden believes that Thomas is coming into a league as a better shooter than Harden was as a rookie.
“Obviously Cam was a much better scorer than I was coming out of college,” Harden said according to the New York Post.
Now, a player giving praise to a teammate is nothing new, but this type of praise isn’t typical because it’s giving Thomas some big shoes to fill.
Being a late-round draft pick on a team with championship aspirations doesn’t usually guarantee a lot of playing time, but these are different circumstances.
With star point guard Kyrie Irving potentially missing over half the season over his vaccine consistency, the Nets will need all hands on deck. With Patty Mills as the only true point guard on the roster outside of Irving, Cam Thomas might find himself getting more minutes than expected.
Harden has proven he can handle the point guard role during his time with the Houston Rockets, so this might prove be a good situation for the Nets rookie.
Thomas Looks Great So Far
GettyLSU’s Cameron Thomas launches a shot.
The Summer League isn’t typically a barometer anybody goes by for whether or not a player will eventually be good, but Cam Thomas shined there nonetheless.
He came away with Summer League MVP honors after averaging 27 points per game while also being the leading scorer. Obviously, this came against fellow rookies and other youngsters trying to make an NBA roster, but it’s still impressive.
Looking back at previous winners of the award, you’ll see a star-studded list that includes the likes of Damian Lillard, Blake Griffin and John Wall, so he has good company there.
What’s more impressive is the fact that he was able to connect on 36 percent of his shots from behind the long line, showing that he can adapt his game to the NBA product.
Shooting 36 percent from three as a rookie would be more than impressive, and it’d show his well on track to becoming one of the premier shooters in the league.
The Nets might be in need of his talents at the start of the season, so it’s good that things are already looking bright for the young guard.
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