He may have loved Kobe Bryant but Cam Thomas also gave credit to his former teammate James Harden for changing the game.
In another excerpt from his interview with Draymond Green on the Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis, Cam Thomas revealed that while a huge Kobe Bryant fan, he patterned his game after former teammate James Harden as a youth, saying Harden changed the game in ways many don’t appreciate.
“James? Like I said before, I really patterned my game after James when he was in Houston,” Thomas told Green. “Just watching—like, I really tried to pattern my game after him a little bit but still take stuff from him. I really tried to pattern my game after James: the ball in his hand, the step-back threes, all the iso moves. So before I even got there, I was already tapped in with watching James and knowing all his moves and stuff. So yeah, that’s definitely someone I’ve studied and looked at to take things from.”
Thomas played with Harden in 2021-22 until Harden was traded to the 76ers in February 2022.
“I think we really gravitated towards James because James was doing the isos, like breaking people down one-on-one, scoring the 40s and 50s,” Thomas said before comparing the relative impacts of Harden and Steph Curry.
“I think Steph really changed the way teams wanted to play the game of basketball: shooting the threes, the pace of y’all playing, just moving around without the ball. I think Steph really changed the way the teams around the league try to play. James really changed the individual play of players—the isos, the handles, step-backs, shooting tough shots, and the foul drawing. I think James really changed the individual skill of how players wanted to play the game. Steph really changed the team culture. Everybody wants to shoot threes now. If you can’t shoot threes, you can’t play. So, he really changed the team aspect of the league for sure.”
Thomas’ game still carries a bit of Harden’s but James, of course, has also been one of the game’s assist leaders, turning in a triple-double in his first game as a Nets and averaged 10.5 assists as well as 23.4 points in his 80 games as a member of the Brooklyn Nets. That remains a work-in-progress for Thomas.
Thomas also spoke with Green about his exclusion from ESPN’s list of the 100 top players under 25. He did not mince words.
“I’ve been going through this since the Grassroots—just always being overlooked, especially by the media” Thomas said, referencing youth basketball. “People putting others over you when you know they’re not better than you. But then, you know, it’s still politics at the end of the day.
“At the end of the day, you still gotta look at the talent. Like, I’m way better than him, but they’re putting him over me because of what? Because I’m quiet? Because I’m not on social media as much? I don’t talk as much? I just go about my business and go on to the next game. I mean, I guess it’s just because I’m not really around much. I don’t talk much—I just go out there, handle my business, and go on.”
In a later edition of his show, Green cited Thomas’ exclusion and ESPN’s ranking Tyrese Haliburton above Jalen Williams as evidence that the top 100 was flawed.
Thomas remains out with a hamstring strain, which he said was his first. Speaking publicly for the first time about the injury Wednesday, Thomas acknowledged he’s still in the beginning stages of the rehab process.
“I’m just doing whatever the performance team has me doing. It’s still early,” Thomas said. “I’m just doing whatever they have me doing, just a little bit here and there. But it’s all right.”
When he was hurt two weeks ago, the Nets said he’d be re-evaluated in three to four weeks.