BROOKLYN, NY (WTKR)- The biggest winner of the Kyrie Irving trade just might be Chesapeake native Cam Thomas, as the former Oscar Smith standout makes the most of his increased role.
Thomas started seeing more minutes when Irving went down with an injury last week and is making his case to keep his elevated playing time, eclipsing the 40 point mark on two occasions during a three day stretch.
Saturday saw the former Tiger score a career-high 44 points to fuel the Nets' comeback win over the Wizards. He would reset his career-best on Monday night, dropping 47 points in a Brooklyn loss to the Clippers. He's scored at least 19 points in each of his last four games.
Thomas has appeared in 36 games so far this season, earning his first start on Monday night. He's averaging 9.5 points per game, but is posting 32.8 points per outing over the course of his last four games. He's also seen his time on the floor jump up to 28.8 minutes per game during the last four contests.
Irving was traded to the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday for a package that included I.C. Norcom product Dorian Finney-Smith.
Thomas was selected by the Nets in the first round of the 2021 NBA Draft. He spent the 2020-21 season at LSU where he led all Division I freshmen in scoring with 23 points per game.
