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Basketball star Cam Thomas is returning to the Brooklyn Nets for at least the next year after signing a new $6 million deal with the team that he has called “home” for the last four years.
Thomas, 23, who signed the contract as a restricted free agent, is understood to have failed to reach a longer-term deal with the Nets—and will have the option of free agency in 2026 as a result of his latest agreement.
According to ESPN, other offers put on the table for Thomas and his agents, Ron Shade and Alex Saratsis of Octagon, included a two-year, $30 million deal with a “team option for the second season or one year and $9.5 million with incentives up to $11 million while waiving the no-trade clause.”
However, sources told the outlet that these offers were turned down, resulting in the one-year deal as an alternative.
Thomas, who has been a part of the Brooklyn Nets since 2021, is one of the first of the final restricted free agents to land a deal. He is the fifth former first-round pick to sign an offer since 2017.
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When the Nets entered free agency, they were among the few teams that still had a salary cap.
Thomas—who was drafted by the team in 2021—has been a fan-favorite on the Nets for years, having averaged 24 points, 3.8 assists, and 3.3 rebounds in just over 31 minutes of the last game.
However, his good-luck streak came to an end due to a hamstring injury, which prompted him to miss time on the court.
Thomas has nine career 40-point games, which is the fourth most in Brooklyn Nets history.
And despite the complicated negotiations between himself and the team, Thomas was quick to admit back in June that he wanted nothing more than to remain with the Nets, explaining that he viewed Brooklyn—and his team—as his “home.”
Thomas, who was born in Japan but raised in Chesapeake, VA, spoke to local Virginia network WTKR3 about his restricted free agency, reiterating his desire to commit to the Nets for another season.
“It’s just a situation I can’t control really. Just got to leave it up to my agents and the front office, but I definitely want to be back in Brooklyn. It’s definitely home for me being drafted there,” he said.
“You definitely build a bond with a lot of people there. I definitely love being there, but at the same time, you still got to do what’s best for you in the business aspect.
“We’ll just take that by ear, but I definitely want to be back in Brooklyn, for sure. It’s definitely, definitely my home, for sure.”
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While Thomas now considers Brooklyn to be his home, his basketball career first began to flourish hundreds of miles away, when he was a young boy living in Virginia with his mom and his sister, who is 10 years his senior.
According to Sports Illustrated, the sporting pro began playing basketball at the age of 5, after seeing his sister shooting hoops with some friends.
He then revealed himself to have a natural flair on the court when he won a free-throw contest at age 7, shooting 33 in a row.
From there, Thomas’ love of the sport really took off—fueled by a desire to mirror the success of late basketball legend Kobe Bryant—with his mother, Leslie, serving as his personal coach while he practiced at the local recreation center near his home.
Throughout his career at high school, Leslie was always on the sidelines of her son’s games, and even moved with him to Baton Rouge, LA, after he was recruited by Louisiana State University.
“It’s just me and Cam,” she told SI of the move to Louisiana. “I don’t really know anybody. I came down here to support my son.”
After joining the LSU Tigers, Thomas waited just one year before declaring for the NBA draft, forgoing his remaining years of college eligibility.
Having moved to Brooklyn to begin his professional career, Thomas found additional sideline support from his fellow New Yorkers, explaining in 2024 at the premiere of a documentary about his rise to basketball stardom that he couldn’t have asked for a more positive environment in which to start his NBA journey.
“It’s good having a support system from a different state, borough that you’re not even from,” he said, according to fan site Nets Republic.
“So having that extra [support], I feel like you couldn’t ask for any more. So it’s technically my second home right now, so I just want to keep that up. Keep putting a show on for y’all, and keep giving y’all somebody to look up to. So just keep supporting me. I got y’all for sure.”