NBA Player Breakdown: Cam Thomas Scoring, Shot Profile, Most Improved Odds

Brooklyn Nets guard Cam Thomas has taken the NBA world by storm through his unorthodox style. He is currently among the league leaders in scoring at 33 points per game, but is it remotely sustainable? Check out below for a quick breakdown on Cam Thomas’ offensive game and potential as a lead scorer.

Cam Thomas the Isolation Wizard

Thomas is a prolific isolation scorer who currently paces the NBA in isolation frequency at 30.1% (per NBA.com). Despite his massive volume, he’s still producing 1.09 points per isolation possession. For context, that’s in line with Luka Doncic, James Harden, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Joel Embiid’s production from last season.

The third year guard owns a tight handle, beautiful hesitation off the bounce, and the ability to explode into a step-back jumper. Mavericks wing Josh Green is an athletic, above-average defender that mirrors opponents well, but he had no chance against Thomas here.

Cam Thomas is electric off the dribble pic.twitter.com/PwuVbAIqqo

— Braxton Reynolds (@BReynolds200) November 1, 2023

Of the 44 players averaging 10 drives per game, Thomas leads the pack in free throw attempts per drive. His strength, low center of gravity and ability to create advantages is routinely placing defenders out of position and prone to hacking. He’s an excellent finisher through contact too.

In the next clip, Thomas mimics a former Brooklyn Nets guard that now resides in Dallas. He thrives by throwing his opponent off guard and utilizing fake pull-ups into drives. Thomas dazzles through a lethal dribble combination here and finishes through contact (where’s the foul ref?)

🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/Av4ft1OuZc

— Braxton Reynolds (@BReynolds200) November 1, 2023

Based on his uncanny ability to wrench open separation and his smooth shot in the face of chaos, Thomas has the tools to maintain a strong level of isolation efficiency. All he has done throughout his career is score; he averaged 23 points as a freshman at LSU.

Unorthodox Shot Profile

47.3% of Thomas’ field goal attempts come from 3 to 16 feet of the basket, which ranks 24th of 275 players. This frequency aligns with old-school guards like Chris Paul and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. He’s content to use his defenders’ momentum against themselves and pull-up on drives, thus slashing his shots at the rim (not necessarily a good thing).

Thomas loves these short pull-up jumpers pic.twitter.com/MZ42AkHBPi

— Braxton Reynolds (@BReynolds200) November 1, 2023

Astonishingly, Thomas owns 26 pull-up field goal attempts compared to only 3 catch-and-shoot field goal attempts. His off-ball game is virtually non-existent at the moment, so defenders that can deny him the ball essentially remove him from the possession. However, if they fail to accomplish this task, then they face the wrath of a cold-blooded scorer that leads the NBA in points per touch. The difference in his production based on whether he can set up a dribble or not is truly astounding.

Is 33 points per game and a 70.5 2PT% despite only taking 17.5% of field goal attempts within three feet of the rim sustainable? It’s nearly impossible, but Thomas can still achieve desirable efficiency and perhaps permanently settle around 25 points per game. He’s can’t miss at the moment, but it won’t last forever.

That’s just ridiculous pic.twitter.com/JazFRI2ra8

— Braxton Reynolds (@BReynolds200) November 1, 2023

2023-24 NBA Most Improved Player Odds