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Kevin Durant owning Cam Thomas after 51-point game was epic

By Jordanna Clark

Nov 30, 2021; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Brooklyn Nets head coach Steve Nash talks to guard Cam Thomas (24) and forward Kevin Durant (7) during the first quarter against the New York Knicks at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 30, 2021; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Brooklyn Nets head coach Steve Nash talks to guard Cam Thomas (24) and forward Kevin Durant (7) during the first quarter against the New York Knicks at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /
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Kevin Durant casually scored 51 points for the Brooklyn Nets in a 116-104 win over Detroit on Sunday night. He shot 16-of-31 from the floor, including 5-of-10 from the 3-point line, and even contributed 9 assists and 7 rebounds.

As if the rest of us who aren’t immortal needed yet another reminder, Durant really can do it all. He’s averaging 36.5 minutes per game, the most since 2013-14, in his 14th NBA season. Is the opposition in full panic mode yet?

Remember when he played in all 48 minutes of last year’s Game 5 against Milwaukee? That was yet another one of his otherworldly performances.

He didn’t check out of Sunday’s game for the final time until there was a little over a minute left to play, right after he knocked down a jump shot to secure his 51st point. After the game, he teased rookie Cam Thomas. Or at least we think that he was teasing him based on the playful trash talk that’s taken place between these two.

Kevin Durant refers to his 51 points as “light work” to Cam Thomas.

Gotta put the rookie in his place, right? Thomas was previously talking about how he had beat Durant in one-on-one shootarounds and post-ups earlier in the season and then took a playful shot at KD after the team’s win over the Cavaliers in late November. Thomas is in his first season with the Nets, but he’s shown that he isn’t afraid to call KD out. Perhaps Durant was reminding Thomas that he’s the teacher, and the rookie is the student.

It’s nice that the two can joke around in this manner because it’s evident it helps team chemistry. At the end of the day, Thomas knows he’s learning from KD, and KD knows he’s imparting valuable wisdom on his young teammate.

Maybe Thomas will get to the point in his 14th year where he can score 50+ points and then look at a rookie and tell them “light work.” If that moment ever comes, we know whose smile will be the biggest, won’t we?