The 2022-23 season was an interesting one for the Brooklyn Nets. In a season that started with championship expectations, the Nets’ season ended with just trying to hold on to a playoff spot after trading away Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving to end the superstar experiment once and for all.
At one point, Brooklyn was regarded as one of the main contenders in the Eastern Conference with Durant and Irving leading the way. Once the trade deadline came and went, the Nets had a completely different team led by budding star wing Mikal Bridges.
Not to mention, Brooklyn went through a coaching change after Steve Nash was fired following a 2-5 start to this season. Jacque Vaughn is now the head man of a team that is currently in flux thanks to the trades of Durant and Irving. While the offseason is still fresh, it’s a good time to review all of the Nets who played this season starting with: guard Cam Thomas.
(All stats are courtesy of basketball-reference.com).
Traditional Stats:
- 10.6 PPG
- 1.7 RPG
- 1.4 APG
- 44.1 FG%
- 38.3 3FG%
- 86.8 FT%
- 16.6 MPG
Advanced Stats:
- 14.7 PER
- 56.7 TS%
- 27.8 USG%
- 1.0 WS (0.3 OWS and 0.7 DWS)
- -2.7 BPM (-0.7 OBPM and -2.0 DBPM)
- -0.2 VORP
Statistical Ranks:
- 65th in the NBA 3FG%
- 110th in PER
- Tied for 28th in USG%
Contract:
- 2023-24: $2.24 million
- 2024-25: $4.041 million
Takeaways:
Thomas came into the 2022-23 season with expectations to show that he could improve his three-point shooting and his playmaking. He managed to achieve one of those goals as he shot 38.3% from three-point land this season as opposed to the 27% he shot in 2021-22. His playmaking did not seem to improve.
Thomas averaged 1.4 APG and 1.1 TPG in 2022-23 and while it’s not the best ratio, the former 27th overall pick of the 2021 NBA Draft is usually on the court to provide scoring. However, if Thomas wants to be on the floor for a longer period of time, he has to find a way to make plays for others.
Despite not seeing much growth from Thomas in the playmaking department, the NBA world did see Thomas grow into his scoring role in a major way when given the playing time. In the four games that Thomas started during the season, he averaged 39 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game while shooting 46.4% from the field and 50% from behind the three-point line.
More to the point, when Thomas received between 20 minutes and 29 minutes in a game, he averaged 17.1 points per game. His defense leaves some to be desired, but this season shows that Thomas can score with the best of them when given the time. The issue moving forward will be if he improves on the defensive end and/or making plays for his teammates.
2022-23 season grade: C+
