HOUSTON, TX – OCTOBER 27: Cam Thomas #24 of the Brooklyn Nets handles the ball during the game against the Houston Rockets on October 27, 2025 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2025 NBAE (Photo by Logan Riely/NBAE via Getty Images)
After a month and a half, the Brooklyn Nets will get their shooting guard back.
On Friday, Brian Lewis of the New York Post reported that Cam Thomas had been cleared and returned to full practice for the Nets after a month away due to a left hamstring injury. Shortly afterwards, Jordi Fernandez and the team made it official:
As of this writing, there hasn’t been any reporting as to possible minutes restrictions, whether he’s starting, etc. The 24-year-old had missed 20 games this year after missing 53 to previous hamstring issues last season.
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Thomas rejoins a Nets team that has started to figure some things out, especially on the defensive end. Prior to Thomas’ injury on November 5, the Nets defense was allowing 125.1 points per 100 possessions, worst in the NBA and on pace to be one of the worst in basketball history. Since his absence, the team has allowed just 112.2 points per 100, eighth best in the Association. And if you want to get even more specific, in December they’ve allowed only 102.8 points per 100 possessions, far and away the best mark in the NBA. How did Jordi and the Nets fix things? From our Lucas Kaplan:
Good fortune is always involved in small-sample success, but this ain’t that. Jordi Fernández, scarred by his team’s start to this season, has dialed the blitz way back, instead opting to switch most ball-screens. This season’s Nets are forcing fewer turnovers, but as Fernández explains, the constant switching decreases stress on help defenders: “The other thing is switching a little bit more pick-and-roll. It creates less help, less rotations, and you know, you can defend the 3-point line easier, and then the multiple efforts.
With Thomas back in the fold, it will be interesting to see how the team looks from here. Noah Clowney got through some early struggles and has done very well next to Nic Claxton in the frontcourt. The rookies have had their flashes of greatness and are on the path to being solid contributors. And Michael Porter Jr has played some of the best basketball of his life and has a good chance of making the All Star team. With a defense that has found its way and plenty of athleticism to spare, the Nets hope that Thomas’ offensive punch can turbocharge a group that is still struggling a bit on offense, last two games notwithstanding.
Fernandez recently acknowledged that things have changed since Thomas went down. How does he fit now, the coach was asked.
“That’s a good question,” the coach said back on December 8. “The context is different. Before Cam got hurt, obviously, his superpower was the ability he had to score. At the same time, we always want to see playmaking efficiency and improvement on defense. So all those things were important at the time. Now, he’s been out, the team continues to get better and play in a [good] way… The skillset, he’s very unique and very good at what he does. But at the same time, now the group is taking positive steps.
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“For the most part, I’m very happy with the whole group. And now when he comes back, it’s going to be on me to figure out how we introduce him into the group, and thinking that the most important thing, it’s always the group. And then from there, it’s [that] you’re willing to do whatever it takes to help the group and obviously improve yourself. That’s how this works: Team success will bring your own success as well.”
On Friday, Fernandez emphasized that he’ll play a role in Thomas return to action.
“I want him to be solid defensively…a great playmaker and a great efficient scorer. He’s more than capable to do all those things. If he doesn’t then I’m going to have to sit down with him & try to help them get there.”
For Thomas, something to keep an eye on is how often he gets to and finishes at the rim. Per Basketball Reference, prior to the injury, CT was at career lows in field goals attempted inside of three feet and field goal percentage inside of three feet. Throughout his career, Thomas has had his fair share of highlights with twisting layups in traffic at the rim. Now that he’s back at full strength, we’ll see if he can return to old form in a hurry.
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The Nets are in a pretty interesting spot heading in to 2026. They’re still near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, but the team’s level of play has improved dramatically as the season has gone on. With Thomas back and with a lot to prove, we’ll see how he and the team get back in sync.