How similar is Nets' Cam Thomas to Bernard King for career impact?

Brooklyn Nets guard Cam Thomas is in the middle of his first foray into free-agency at just 23 years old after playing four seasons in the NBA. Thomas has been one of the more polarizing figures in the league due to the way that he plays the game, but there are still many wondering why he hasn't been signed yet. There could be a career comparison for Thomas.

"Bernard King is a real comp here, I think... like all of these guys, this is like basically the list of guys who did not win a title playing this style of basketball," The Athletic's Sam Vecenie said on an episode of the "Game Theory Podcast." One of the topics that have been discussed over the past couple of years is how valuable Thomas' style of play is to winning in the NBA today.

"As he (Thomas) currently plays basketball, this has not really been a winning player archetype throughout the annals of NBA history," Vecenie continued before explaining that the analysis is more about Thomas' archetype than it is about how good of a player he is. "I'm higher on Cam Thomas' scoring ability than probably what most people are. I think that dude is born to score the basketball and is this incredible, unbelievable scoring basketball player."

Thomas is coming off the best season of his career after averaging 24.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game while shooting 43.8% from the field and 34.9% from three-point land. While Thomas looked like the best version of himself following the 2024-25 season, he played in just 25 games, the fewest appearances that he's made in a season since being the 27th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.

Time will tell if Thomas can have a career similar to King, who averaged 22.5 points per game for his career, but the main issue for Thomas and the Nets at the moment is agreeing to a contract. Per Brian Lewis of the New York Post, Thomas is looking for a significant pay raise based on some of the guards that are currently making at least $30 million per year.

This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: How similar is Nets' Cam Thomas to Bernard King for career impact?