Early Sixth Man of the Year Rankings: Do any Nets crack the list?

Oct 9, 2023; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Brooklyn Nets guard Cam Thomas (24) controls the ball against the Los Angeles Lakers during the first half at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

3. Cam Thomas

If the award were based purely on scoring averages, Thomas would be the runaway winner of Sixth Man of the Year, averaging 26 points per game, 13th in the NBA.

The third-year man out of LSU is playing a staggering 33.2 minutes per game, a little less than double his previous high of 17.6 minutes during his rookie season. This is partly due to Cameron Johnson sustaining a calf injury late in the Nets opening night win against the Cleveland Cavaliers, so we will see how Thomas’ usage changes once Johnson returns to the starting lineup.

We will assume that Thomas will see his eventual landing spot as the team’s sixth man for this ranking, and if that’s the case, the Nets have a dangerous weapon off the bench.

Thomas is shooting a career-high field goal percentage at 47.5%, and while his three-point percentage is down from last year, he’s shooting at a much higher volume (shooting 5.8 threes a game this year compared to 2.3 a game last year), so the impact is about the same from behind the arc.

CAM THOMAS TIME pic.twitter.com/Q4U8M2fUps
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If Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn continues to show the confidence in Thomas that he has shown to this point in the season, he could wind up being a finalist for the award.

Right now, Thomas has +700 odds to win the award.