Entering the 2023-24 season, it wasn't quite clear what role Cam Thomas was going to be having for the Brooklyn Nets. Thomas had a stretch last season where he looked like an unstoppable scoring force, but he didn't do much else and struggled thereafter, leading to his eventual removal from the rotation. But during the Nets' season-opener, Thomas showed that he's no fluke. He dropped 36 points on efficient shooting splits in a loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, earning himself a starting nod in their next game against the Dallas Mavericks with Nicolas Claxton nursing an injury.

And Thomas might be here to stay for the Nets… for good. The 22-year old guard dropped 30 points against the Mavs on 12-19 shooting from the field, leading the Nets in scoring despite yet another tough loss. Nevertheless, the young combo guard, in the aftermath of yet another explosive scoring outing, is reaching Michael Jordan-esque numbers, albeit in an incredibly small sample size.

According to StatMuse, Cam Thomas is now averaging the most points per game for a starter over the last 40 seasons, at 32.6 (minimum five games). For comparison, Jordan averaged 30.5 points for his career as a starter (but he has done so for 1,039 games — 1,032 more than Thomas).

Make no mistake about it, no one will be mistaking the Nets guard for Michael Jordan anytime soon. Nevertheless, this just puts in perspective how Thomas tends to produce whenever the Nets give the ball onto his hands. It's a good bet that the 22-year old guard will pop off whenever the Nets coaching staff trusts him to go to work.

However, with the Nets having lost their first two games despite Cam Thomas' explosions, it's fair to wonder whether head coach Jacque Vaughn would end up putting the nascent guard on a shorter leash. That might be a mistake, even if Thomas has missed two crucial three-pointers during crunch-time in two straight games. Rarely do teams have a scorer as efficient as Thomas is; he's able to draw fouls at a high rate and his midrange jumper is silky smooth. Moreover, his dribbling skills allow him to create a ton of space to rain fire on opposing defenses.

But for now, Thomas can rest easy knowing that he's doing his part — at least on offense — to keep the Nets competitive despite their two losses.