After struggling to carve out an NBA role during his first two seasons, Brooklyn Nets guard Cam Thomas is receiving leaguewide praise amid a historic start to the 2023-24 campaign. Entering Wednesday's matchup vs. the Los Angeles Clippers, during which he exited with a sprained ankle, the 22-year-old ranked ninth in the NBA in scoring at 28.7 points per game.

Thomas put the league on notice last season when he became the youngest player in NBA history to score 40-plus points in three straight games. However, he was benched late in the year after Brooklyn traded Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, a decision that baffled fans. The 2021 first-round pick stepped into an expanded role with the new-look Nets this season and has quickly emerged as Brooklyn's lead scoring option.

Thomas became the second-youngest player in NBA history to open a season with three consecutive 30-point games, trailing only Shaquille O'Neale. He turned in one of the best performances of his career Monday, scoring a game-high 45 points on 17-of-33 shooting during a last-second loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Among the high-profile NBA personalities to take notice was Clippers star Paul George, who praised Thomas ahead of his matchup with Brooklyn on Wednesday.

“He's been balling, and I don't think people are giving him enough credit for his skillset, for how good he is,” George said on his Podcast P show. “He's still a young kid. Probably what, 22-years-old? He's a huge talent, and he's showcasing it in a big market in New York.”

“He's got shades of off-the-bounce stuff like Jamal Crawford and scoring ability like Brandon Roy. He's got some prolific scoring ability. He's a problem.”

Thomas' three-level scoring ability has fueled a Nets offense that ranked seventh in the NBA before his injury. The 2021 first-round pick is an efficient mid-range scorer on high volume, shooting 49 percent on 10.1 attempts per game this season.

Thomas' floor has been raised this season by his improved ability to pressure the rim and get to the free-throw line. He is attempting a career-high 23 percent of his shots at the rim while converting at a career-best 71 percent clip. Before Wednesday, he ranked 11th in the NBA at 6.4 free-throw attempts per game, a product of his added rim pressure and craftiness while probing in the mid-range.

Impressively, the LSU product's high-level production has come while shooting just 32.1 percent from three early this year.

Thomas' elite scoring is especially encouraging given his youth and inexperience. The third-year Net has made 13 career starts and played 2,383 NBA minutes. Despite this, he led the league in scoring among players age 23 or younger before his injury. Five of the next six players behind him have played over 5,500 minutes in their careers.

Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn has commended Thomas' ability to play within the flow of Brooklyn's offense amid his breakout. In addition to Thomas' scoring, he has shown flashes of improved playmaking, a skill Vaughn has emphasized as the next step in his development. George seems to agree with both points, indicating that Thomas' improving decision-making could vault him into another tier within the NBA.

“He's scary now,” George said. “When he figures out how to control the game through his scoring as opposed to just being a player that can just get a bucket, that’s when it’s gonna be a problem.”

Thomas is expected to miss two weeks after rolling his ankle on P.J. Tucker's foot during Wednesday's win over the Clippers. He had led Brooklyn with 14 points in 20 minutes before the injury.

Thomas will re-enter as Brooklyn's lead offensive option upon his return, an eye-opening development after he struggled to crack the team's rotation the last two seasons.