Kevin Durant urges team to believe in Cam Thomas’ ability to score

Even with key cogs in the starting lineup, such as Michael Porter Jr., Egor Demin and Terrence Mann, ruled out due to injury or illness in their New Year’s Day clash against the Houston Rockets, The Brooklyn Nets decided to bring in Cam Thomasthe team’s best net scorer, off the bench. Instead, head coach Jordi Fernandez opted to start rookies Drake Powell and Danny Woof, with the two combining to shoot 7-19 from the field for a combined 17 points in the 120-96 loss.

Meanwhile, Thomas, in just 23 minutes off the bench, scored 21 points on efficient 8-13 shooting from the field and 3-7 off the bench. At this point, it’s clear that Thomas won’t be a huge priority for the Nets moving forward, as he will be entering unrestricted free agency at the end of the season and will likely take their talents elsewhere.

For what it’s worth, the Nets guard got a former teammate Kevin Durant‘s seal of approvalwith the Rockets star urging teams to take a chance on Thomas.

“I feel Cam has a bright future. It just takes someone to believe in his talent and his skill,” Durant said, via Erik Slater, Nets reporter for ClutchPoints. “Hopefully somebody will take a chance on Cam and give him what he deserves and put the ball in his hands and build around him and let him grow into a player. Hopefully the team will put some faith in him.”

Kevin Durant on Cam Thomas’ future in the NBA:

“I feel like Cam has a bright future. It just takes someone to believe in his talent and his skill. Shooters and guys who score the basketball at a high rate are kind of taken for granted in this league. We’re so used to like… pic.twitter.com/7EEze5Kdd5

— Eric Slater (@erikslater_) January 2, 2026

Is Nets guard Cam Thomas underrated?

Durant enjoys pure hoops because he is arguably the best one-on-one shooter the league has ever seen. That’s why the Rockets star believes a team that would bolster Thomas could benefit from a player archetype that seems to be falling out of fashion these days.

“Scorers and guys who score the basketball at a high rate are kind of taken for granted in this league. We’re so used to loving defenders and playmakers and guys who can be connectors, sometimes shooters are taken for granted,” Durant added.