The Brooklyn Nets possess one if the most promising young offensive players in the league. Rising fourth-year guard Cam Thomas has increased his scoring marks each season and led Brooklyn in points-per-game in 2023-24. Trading Mikal Bridges gave Thomas the crucial benefit of being able to further take the reigns of the team. Thomas' potential looks to be through the roof. But can the Nets trust him to be a franchise player? Exmaning Stephen Curry's Golden State Warriors journey helps answer that question.
Stephen Curry joined the Warriors in 2009 when the team selected him with their seventh overall draft pick. Curry entered the league as a highly-touted scorer, and he built a great foundation. Curry averaged 17.5 points per game and shot 43.7 percent on three-pointers during his rookie year. He followed the campaign up with an impressive 18.6 points and 44.2 percent deep-range clip a year later.
Unfortunately, Curry played just 26 games in his third season due to injury. Nevertheless, comparing Curry's first few years in the NBA to Cam Thomas' yields an exciting foreshadowing for Nets fans.
Why Cam Thomas can be a cornerstone for the Nets
Numbers do not tell the complete story of a player's impact, but Thomas' improvement with the Nets cannot go unnoticed. He was not as productive as Stephen Curry was during his first two years, averaging 8.5 and 10.6 points per game, respectively. However, his third year was strikingly similar to Curry's post-injury fourth-year breakout.
Thomas averaged 22.5 points per game during the 2023-24 season, rivaling Curry's 22.9 points per game in 2012-13. There were two major differences in both stars' production. First, Curry shot significantly better from the three at 45.1 percent compared to Thomas' 36.4 percent. Yet, the exciting thing is Thomas amassed his plus-20 point-per-game scoring mark in 31 minutes per contest, whereas Curry's came in 38 minutes.
There is plenty of time for Thomas to improve his efficiency. If he continues to work hard, he could reach a level similar to Curry's.
Of course, Curry is a generational talent, and the Nets have not been able to hold on to that type of player for a long time. If Thomas takes another incredible jump, and continues to show consistency, he could find himself a legend in the borough.
Sean Marks is learning the key lesson that developing in-house talents like Thomas, just as the Warriors did with Curry, is the best route to championships. Marks and the Nets already have a great piece alongside Thomas in Nic Claxton. It will be exciting to see if Thomas can take the next step and help the Nets grow into a dynasty.