Cam Thomas on Brooklyn Nets future, Durant, Harden & Kyrie trio, NBA All-Star goal | Draymond Green

What's up everybody? Welcome back to the Draymond Green Show with my dog, my brother BD, Baron Davis. What up, bro?

What's up, my dog? You the boss, Dray.

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We got a certified bucket getter coming to the show. One of the best scorers in the league, especially at his age. Youngest player in NBA history to have 3 straight 40+ games.

He is—

Wow. The leading all-time scorer at the Oak Hill Academy. And if you know anything about basketball—

Oak Hill.

You know Oak Hill and like so many guys that has gone through there. The amount of guys, the amount of NBA pros that has gone through there and overseas, high level. Yeah.

Legacy.

Like crazy. Leading scorer all time, none other Brooklyn Nets guard, Cam Thomas. What's up, young fella?

Yo, what up, what up, what up? What's good with y'all?

I feel a way, y'all beat us the other night. I ain't too happy about this, but we definitely appreciate you coming on the show.

Yeah, I appreciate you, man. I appreciate you for having me.

Yes, sir.

Yes, sir. My dog, Cam.

What's good, what's good, bro? What's good?

I mean, it's my first time really getting to say something to you, bro. I watch you and man, you are the definition of getting busy. You know what I mean? When you come in the game, you are not messing around. You know what I'm saying? It's like you the DJ, you like whatever's happening, oh, it's cracking, baby. Hey, you be out there getting busy. You know what? You was getting busy on the Warriors.

I was, I was.

23 points in 23 minutes.

Relax yourself, man.

Hey bro, hey, hey, listen. I was like, damn, man, don't let this dude get going. He don't stop. Yo, please don't let this dude get going.

Man.

Man, talk about, you know, just talk about, and then I heard that you averaged 30 In junior high school?

Yeah, yeah, a lot of buckets.

A lot of buckets.

All right, all right, bro, who programmed you?

You know what I mean?

'Cause you gotta be like some type of like goddamn scoring machine robot. Who programmed you, dog?

My mom, really. My mom really. Don't wanna make her mad, you know, after the game she in my ear mad and stuff. So that really what really like fueled me to really kill every game and stuff. So really my mom really like got my mindset to be a, you know, a killer every game.

Like did she whoop you after the game if you didn't like score 20? Like what, how?

Nah, just yell and nag in my ear. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm tired of hearing that. So I just gotta go.

My mom the same way, bro. And obviously just not about scoring because I don't do that like you do. But my mom the same way. Like I always hear, still to this day if I have a bad game.

Yeah, exactly. Same, same. That's what I'm like. Now I gotta go kill next game. Like, I'm tired of hearing all this in my ear after every game. Like, dang, it's like 82 games.

That's funny. That's funny. Hey, I'll tell you what though.

She yell at you every game though?

Yeah, like one game outta 82?

Get to it. I respect, I respect mom. Dude, stay on it.

Don't let up. Moms, don't let up. Stay on him, put the, keep the pressure.

Absolutely.

Keep the pressure.

Hey, and I'll tell you what's the, our strategy, we had a great strategy to stop him yesterday, BD. The strategy was—

Yeah, I was gonna ask that.

We were gonna double him no matter where he went on the floor. We were double teaming. If he came off a handoff, we was double teaming him. If he came off a ball screen, we was double teaming him. And when I realized the strategy wasn't gonna work, BD, I was in a full-out trap, me and Moses Moody. And I'm like, "Oh yeah, we got it close to the sideline. He about to turn the ball over." That man pulled up and shot. I almost fouled him because I'm still coming up on the trap. Like, I'm still closing the trap in. And he just rose up and shot it. I was like, "Oh! Oh no, he different.

This is Kobe-like." Nah, I definitely noticed that they was trapping all game, but then I was like, "All right." 'Cause like we kind of had an idea that, you know, it'll be a lot of blitz in all games. So we kind of had a good scheme to counter, but then at a point in time you just gotta see it early and then still get the ball and attack no matter if the blitz is on you or not. So I think, you know, we had a good game plan for it, but you know, I just came out, just wanna be aggressive for sure.

Yeah, as a young dude, dawg, like, you know, you be killing every time you get in. Like, I love how, prepared and patient you are. You know what I mean? And a lot of dudes, a lot of dudes get opportunities in the league. They go to the right team, right situation. It's like, man, they got, they may not have all the game, but it's the right fit. You got all the game, all the game that the NBA needs. You know what I mean? Yeah. And you know, a lot of times you're playing time, you're in a way you play fluctuate. I mean, just talk about, like how do you keep a level head? Like outside of, like how do you prep? Like, you know what I'm saying? 'Cause when they put you in the game, you on.

Yeah.

All the time. You know what I mean? And you know, you seen like in your rookie year, you know, you gotta make adjustments. You know what I'm saying? Like you get benched some, play some, score 40, don't play. Like talk about that process and like how you stay above board.

Yeah, just, you know, like you said, my first 2 years in and out. You know, going crazy and then you don't play the next game, you know, that's tough for a scorer like me 'cause you like, you know, I can play out here. Like I can really kill out here. Yeah. Then you just like start getting down. You like, dang, like, like what am I doing wrong out here? And then you just start developing patience, talking to the vets, seeing what, you know, the stuff they went through. And then, you know, I'd probably say my last 2 years, you know, my 3rd year, my 4th year is probably Well, this year's probably the only year where I'm really feel like, you know, comfortable as far as like knowing I'm gonna play, knowing I'm a part of, you know, the team every night if I'm healthy enough to play. So I'd probably say just really, I really developed that patience for my first 2 years and just being always like steady, but always like ready, like ready to know, like ready for whatever. So I really think my first 2 years really helped me, shaped me to be the player that I am right now. Just learning and going through those learning curves and stuff.

You, who would you say was your vet along the way that was helping you figure these things out?

Probably my first year mainly, you know, KD. And then, you know, once, once Ky was around more, then me and him really connected. So probably say those two for sure. I'd probably say those are my, you know, my vets for sure. Just talking to 'em, hanging out and stuff, just doing all the, you know, all the team stuff together. So yeah.

No, that's fire. And I've never heard you speak this much. So I'm actually happy to know that you talk. Yeah, for sure. It actually leads me to—

Go ahead, Draymond Green, go ahead.

It actually leads me to something that I wanna say to you and a conversation that I want to have with you and that I know BD will have a lot to say about as well. But, The way you play the game of basketball.

Mm-hmm.

When I see you hoop, the guys who get buckets like you get buckets, they're all loved and like people are so excited to see them play. You know, like they're celebrated. You think of Kyrie, the way Kyrie get buckets. You go Jamal Crawford, you go Lou Will, you go, Like all of these guys who are just a straight KD, like a straight bucket, right? Like that's what they do. When they walk in, you know, they are getting a bucket. No matter how you guard them, no matter what you do, they are going to figure out to get a bucket. They're all celebrating. I know you're young, but I don't see the excitement around the name Cam Thomas. Yeah.

Yeah.

The way it should be for somebody who scored a basketball like you. And I wanna ask you, do you have a reason why that is? And I also wanna share with you why I think that is.

Yeah. Hey, I would love to know, 'cause I've been going through this since, you know, the grassroots really, just always being like overlooked, especially by, You know, the media stuff, people saying, like, putting people over you when you know they're not better than you, but then you don't, but then, you know, it's still politics at the end of the day. But then you like, at the end of the day, you still gotta look at the talent. Like, I'm way better than him, but you're putting him over me 'cause of what? 'Cause I'm not on social media as much. Like, I don't talk as much. I just go about my business and go on to the next game. So, I mean, I guess it's just 'cause I'm not really, around much, I don't talk much, I just go out there and play, handle my business and go on. But hey, if you, if you can tell me why, then I would love to know. 'Cause I've been, yeah, 'cause I've been really like wanting to know why I don't get enough, you know, love or respect as, you know, the other buckets in the league. So especially at my age, like right now I'm averaging about 25 a game. I'm like, damn, I barely hear about it. So it's like, I just love to know why.

Well, I'll share a few things with you. 'Cause I think there's a few reasons. One of your most famous lines that people have ever heard from you is what? What can you—

Ain't shit funny.

Ain't shit funny.

And— Right.

Ain't shit funny was so funny to me. Like, why you don't laugh? 'Cause ain't shit funny. That was so funny to me. And what I would say to you is if ain't shit funny, then make sure everybody know ain't shit funny. And what I mean by that is you have to make people hate you because ain't shit funny.

Yeah.

They gotta feel like ain't shit funny with him. I hate him. If you're not going to make them hate you because ain't shit funny, then you need to make them love you. And the way to make them love you is score the way you score, smile more because I've seen you smile more right here in 10 minutes than I've ever seen you.

Yeah, come on, dog.

In your 4 years in the NBA, I've seen you smile more right here.

Come on, dog.

And I'm like, damn, maybe something is funny. Don't try not to smile then.

This is what I'm thinking when I'm sitting here watching you smile.

Like, damn, maybe something is funny. But smile more and be more extravagant when you score. Get the crowd involved. Talk to them. Or ain't shit funny at all times and I'm making sure you know ain't shit funny and I'm coming at you that way and I'm gonna make you hate me because ain't shit funny. And you have, I think you have to do that. You gotta give people more personality if you think For sure. If you think that being a star in this NBA is just 'cause you, you just gonna score points and be a star in this NBA, I'm here to tell you, you missing the boat, brother. And I'm gonna tell you why you missing the boat. Because this is the NBA, brother. This is, you know, the NBA, when they come around to record, they say the NBA-E.

Mm-hmm.

Don't think that's just the people that's recording. That's this whole thing.

Yeah.

This is entertainment. This is show business.

Yeah.

And in show business, there's a character that's hated and there's a character that's loved.

Yeah.

The character that sit in the middle, he get killed off the show in week 1.

Yeah.

The character that sits in the middle, they get a line, a couple lines they may say in the movie, and then you never hear from them again. That's the character that sit in the middle. So you scoring the way you score, You have to decide, ain't shit funny. I'm gonna make sure y'all know that that's where I stand at all times. And so many things about me gonna say that. And people will be able to grab onto that. Ain't shit funny. Or the way you score, it's electric, man. The way you bounce around the court, you come off, you jump high as hell. That's electric. So guess what then?

That's it, yeah.

Then be electric. Be electric in the arena.

Fun to watch.

Right?

Like you may say, "Ah, that ain't me." If you wanna be who I think you wanna be, because you don't score the ball the way you score. I feel like, I don't know you well. I feel like you live in the gym. Because there's no way you score the ball the way you score the ball.

You can do that, dude.

And you are that confident anytime you had a ball and you don't just live in the gym. So I'm gonna throw this out there. You're a gym rat. And if I'm wrong, If I'm lying, I'm flying. I don't think I'm flying anywhere. But you gotta give people that. Yeah, I wanna piggyback.

Yep, I wanna piggyback off that 'cause you know what? I always consider myself an underdog in my career. You know what I mean? It was always dudes ranked over me. And that was because the NBA is, to Draymond's point, it's entertainment, right? So you gonna have dudes who get bigger marketing deals or get more recognized or make the All-Star team 'cause they on a better team. But what he's saying is persona, right? I had to go and say, okay, I don't think none of these dudes is better than me. They may be in better situations, but what am I gonna do? Like if we all averaging between 7 to 10 assists, you know what I mean? What else can I bring? Fuck it, I'm gonna lead the league in steals. I'm gonna try and be a defensive nightmare. But then when I rocked, Man, I'm about to rock these dudes to sleep. You feel what I'm saying? And I never talked really, I didn't talk shit, but it was just little antics. You know what I mean? A smirk, like, ain't shit funny? Like, that's a smile and then a frown, right?

Yeah.

It's that little, do that, that's your mantra. You feel what I'm saying? That's your persona. So now them 25, Them 25 points got a story to it. It got energy to it. Other people feeling it, you know what I mean? They feeling it. You gotta make people feel your points.

Yeah.

You know what I mean? You out there getting buckets like it's the easiest thing in the world. So you make shit look hella easy, you know what I mean? But you gotta make people feel it. You gotta have opponents feel it. Your teammates gotta feel it. The energy in the arena. They gotta feel it. And you ain't gotta be a rah-rah dude 'cause you ain't a rah-rah dude. But all you gotta do is smile and frown because ain't shit funny.

Yeah.

You know what I mean?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

And so like that persona becomes what you walk in the gym with. That's what Draymond Green said. You walking in the gym, man, ain't shit funny. That don't mean shit ain't funny. It just ain't funny today. Not when I'm on this court. You know what I mean? Not when I'm out here, ain't shit funny. And y'all gonna pay for it. And so that's, I think that's where you are now. It's like, all right, you 25 in the game, bro. And what?

Yeah.

And what? You know what I mean? And what? Add something to challenge yourself to, and then wrap that shit in that persona. That ain't shit funny. Now them 25 gonna be 28, 6'4", you know what I mean? And like, you gonna be walking off the court like, damn, they fucking with me. You know what I mean? They really fucking with how I get down. I ain't said, I ain't really changed nothing but my persona. You know what I mean? And like, I think that's what it is. 'Cause you so goddamn talented and you so quiet and you do it so naturally. It's like, man, I've been doing this. Why they don't? Nah, go make them pay attention to you.

For sure. You know what I mean? Yeah, I got you.

Real talk. 'Cause you got the hard part.

Yeah.

Like the thing that most people don't have is the hard part. Like the hard part is easy for you.

Yeah.

You see what I'm saying?

Yeah, yeah, I see what you're saying.

Like I love, I love Kawhi Leonard. He's a special talent. I've watched him grow in the league. I came in, I think a year after Kawhi.

Yeah.

Played against him in some great battles. Kawhi Leonard has made a bunch of money. Kawhi Leonard is a star. He's never been a superstar because he don't speak.

Yeah.

You know what I'm saying?

Yeah, yeah.

You know, when he first signed with New Balance—

But he got a hell of a brand.

He does, right? You know what I mean?

He got a brand by not speaking. Facts.

But check this out though. No, but check this out. No one really was catching on to Kawhi, right? He signs with New Balance.

Right.

In the first commercial, they do kind of the Lil Penny thing. It's two people arguing. And it's not Kawhi's voice, right? They found one moment to capitalize on. They found his laugh.

Yeah.

And now he's the funny guy.

Yeah.

Right? And since he became the funny guy, now Kawhi is more talked about than ever. He's more known than ever, right? Like, and he's played less since then, but he's the funny guy.

Yeah.

You see what I'm saying? They found a way. And that's all this is, bro. So I just wanted to say to you, like, don't miss the boat.

Yeah.

Like, don't miss the boat and think that if I go, all right, they ain't listen when I score 25, so I'm gonna average 30 this year. All right, they ain't listen to the average 30, I'm gonna average 40. Like, they gonna be like, yo, that's crazy, he averaging 40. But in order for it to equal out for more for Cam Thomas, Yeah. Give a little more.

Yeah.

Like BD said, maybe you smiling, it's a problem 'cause ain't shit. But give a little more, man. Don't miss the boat thinking, nope, it's just gonna be about buckets because I'm gonna tell you this, as much as it is about buckets, just buckets ain't gonna sell for the NBA.

Yeah.

And that's what this is all about at the end of the day.

Yeah.

It's entertainment, showbiz.

Bingo.

So be a part of the show.

Talk that talk, big homie. Tell him to tell him, hey bro, this is, this is, and this is real game, you know what I mean? This is like, it's some big homie shit and some big brother shit because, you know, usually you don't get this type of game.

Nah, for real.

You know, when somebody your rival, right? And then a lot of times you on a team where, you know, it ain't a lot of vets. You know what I mean? Y'all not winning. It look like y'all tanking. But this is a great opportunity for you to add those two things to your game. You know what I mean? So take that challenge and say, okay, when this, when I, when they gonna know who I am coming outta this season, right? I'm gonna add these two things to my persona and also my game. You know what I mean? And then the basketball gods gonna take care of you, bro. 'Cause you, you got, you got super, you got superpowers in this space. You know what I mean? For what you do. And then my question is like, what is your motivating factor? You know what I'm saying? 'Cause I heard you say you get overlooked, you've been doing this for a while. Like what continue to motivate you and where do you want to be?

Yeah, just the motivating part, just always being, you know, like everybody say, the underdog, overlooked, not getting enough respect that you want in the league or wherever you play at. That's always gonna motivate me. I'd probably say now, my first few years, it was just, you know, being drafted late, getting drafted late in the draft. But now it's really like my first two years not playing. So I really use that as well as the motivation, like the chip on my shoulders, people would say, as me not playing my first two years. So I really use that now. But really just trying to use anything I can just to go out there and have some type of edge to go dominate each game. So probably just all that for real.

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As BD said, I think most people thought y'all were gonna be a team that's tanking. All of a sudden you bring in a new coach.

Yeah.

And Jordy, who I respect, you know, I've seen him on the bench with Mike Brown.

Yeah.

I respect the intensity that he brings to the game. And I've heard from people that I respect as basketball minds that he's a great basketball mind.

Yeah.

I don't know that to be certain. I've never interacted with him much. But what I do appreciate is he bring a fire to the sideline. Like even when he's assistant, he was up off the bench bench, he's screaming, like he bring a certain fire that I respected. And so when you look at trading Mikal Bridges, who was the leading scorer on the team, you know, most people like, oh, they tanking. And then all of a sudden now you got the ball in your hand. Dennis is one of the ultimate competitors I've played against.

Yeah.

You know, you got Cam Johnson playing well, Dorian Finney-Smith, who's just a dog.

Yeah.

All of a sudden, Y'all ain't as bad as people thought y'all was gonna be, right? Like y'all right there near .500, which in the East, by the way, right now you right in the thick of things. Yeah. You know what I'm saying?

Yeah.

Do you see yourself in the way now that you've been handed the keys to the offense, being a part of their long-term future? Is that what you see in your future moving forward in this league?

I mean, obviously being drafted in Brooklyn, it's home. It's my second home, as I've been saying. This year is my second home. Just be able to grow from 18, 19 years old to where I am now. So I just, it's always been like that second home for me. The fans love me, so I definitely really like gravitate towards the fans and the fans gravitate towards me, especially 'cause how I play. You know, New York love bucket getters, so that's really what they really gravitate towards me in that aspect.

They do, man.

So yeah, they always, so they always have my back no matter what. So I really would love to be in Brooklyn, of course.

I like your growth. Yeah. You know, I like the way that you were patient, you've been ready, and now you stepping into your opportunity to prove, to be who you are, right? To stamp your name in that top 25, them top 5 shooting guards, you know what I mean? And I think that, you know, as Brooklyn gets better, as you, continue to grow. Like, you can cornerstone, you know what I mean? And give this franchise somebody to recognize.

Yes.

You know what I mean? And, you know, I'm just excited for everything that you got going. Your growth. I wanna see more shit, you know what I mean? Like, I would— Me, I'm an OG. I'm your OG. I need to see more shit. You feel what I'm saying? I know you can score, right? But I want you in that other, that upper echelon, right? Because your scoring is so dangerous that what are the other two things that you gonna add? Is it rebounding? Is it playmaking? Is it defense? Is it steals? Is it hustle plays? You know what I mean? Are you a glue guy? Is it, you know, whatever it is, it gotta be something else to make them hate you.

Yeah.

I think this year, yeah, I think this year though, most people don't see is the playmaking. Sometimes I'm not gonna get the assist 'cause you know, like when Golden State was blitzing, I'm passing to the pocket. I don't get the assist for it if somebody's in the pocket and make that hockey assist. So I think my, I think for me, you gotta watch me play to know like, oh, he is playmaking. 'Cause you know, I'm getting out the blitz. So you know, it's on the guy, whoever would set the screen in the blitz to make the right play. I'm like getting the hockey assists, which is not really an assist for me. So I think that part of my game's really grown. And obviously with Jordy, he really, you know, was preaching defense, playing, just playing hard on defense. I think that aspect really helped.

That just means you don't like to pass the goddamn ball.

Oh, that means I'm getting blitzed. That means they're blitzing.

And you getting double-teamed and you frustrated and you like, fuck it, I might as well make the right play.

You know what's funny about that though? Hey, that's what scorers do.

That's what scorers do. Oh yeah, you know, I'm playmaking and shit. No, you ain't. You shooting the ball all the time, bro. So when you get double-teamed—

Hey, check this out though. What I will say is I understand that. You know why I understand that? Like, obviously I think I'm an incredible playmaker and like I can pass the ball.

Yeah.

But I made a career outta getting the ball out of a blitz with Steph Curry and making the next play. Steph didn't necessarily get the assist and it was on me to read what the next play was. But I can, there's to read because Steph Curry just drew two defenders. So now there's someone open. I need to find the open guy. Cool, I can find an open man with my eyes closed. Right? And so I understand what you're saying though. And like even watching you last night for 23 minutes that you played.

Yeah, he played great, man.

You were way more willing. The only shot that drove me up a wall was when you shot over me, Donte. And Parker's almost fouled, but I just cannot fucking believe you shot that shot. But you were way more of a willing passer than I thought you were. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. That's just me. You know, that's just the growth this year going over the film and stuff and just knowing, I mean, just knowing that teams will probably send the blitz at me a lot more this year. So it was really just, just being open to being that willing passer, hitting the guy in that pocket and just trusting that he can make the right play. And you know, 'cause at, at the end of the day, it's 4-on-3 on the backside with, you know, drawing 2 defenders. So you just gotta live the result and live with the play the guy made. So that's really just part of my growth this year, my 4th year. So that's really helped me for sure.

Hey bro, but you only get a half. I said 2 to 2.

Nah, nah, I'm telling you. The whole thing. Nah.

Hey bro, the hockey assist is half.

That's half. It needs to be a full assist.

I need steals. Come on, Doc. 2 steals. All right, this is what we gonna do. 2 steals, right? Or let's say 1.5 steals and 3 fouls average for the rest of the year. We gotta get them fouls up. Fouls. Hey bro, we gotta get the fouls up.

Gotta get the fouls up. Yeah.

Yeah, 'cause that means you playing defense. You know what I mean? Like, you know, I used to stay in foul trouble, but I did lead the league in steals. But I just think that like persona, personality-wise, right? Oh yeah, you scoring, you scoring, but you ain't fouling nobody.

Yeah, yeah.

You know what I mean? Like, I think it just makes you more aggressive. And you got the makeup defensively, right? To like, man, go hack somebody 3 times. Like, just know I'm about to hack somebody 3 times and it should be the starting shooting guard. Or whoever you guard. You know what I mean? That shit ain't funny. You know what I mean? Ain't nothing funny. That ain't nothing funny when I come out here and be hacking. 'Cause they ain't gonna call him on. That's how you get your steals.

And it's a presence.

Yeah.

Right? It goes into the same thing what we were saying. Hey, but you, I once heard Boo Williams, who I got a lot of respect for, But I played with the family on the Nike circuit. I remember going to Boo Williams tournament, the Boo Williams tournament.

Yeah.

Obviously he's a pioneer in this. The guys he's had, one in particular, Allen Iverson.

Yeah.

Bubba Chuck, who we all love.

Yeah.

He said, no, Cam Thomas is the best scorer I've ever been around. Not Allen Iverson. What does that do for you to hear that? Like that's, that to me, that's, Fucking crazy.

That's wild.

It's definitely, it's definitely great to hear, especially from a guy, like you said, who's coached, I mean, numerous pros, numerous first-round picks, all that stuff, Hall of Famers. So it's definitely a step in the right direction for me. But you know, I mean, that's, I mean, that's really like everything, especially being from the same area, me and Allen, like being close near the same area. So that's really like, everything. So that's definitely a top tier compliment for me. So I just want to keep going for sure.

And then you did play with, like, you play with KD. Yeah, KD, James Harden, and Kyrie. What was the one-on-ones like? Talk about them ones.

Yeah, we ain't really play ones though. Yeah, bro, we ain't never really play ones for real, honestly. What? Yeah, bro, we never really play ones.

You wasn't trying to get— I was trying to play. The one-on-one play.

Nah, I was.

They didn't want it.

They weren't ready. They didn't want it.

You know, season, season lays. They was like, they wanna stay for the season. I'm like, hey.

Wow. That is disappointing.

Yeah, bro. We never really played ones for real when I was here with them. So I was like, dang.

Man, KD always playing ones.

Always. And he ain't really wanna play. I was like, hey.

Wow.

That is disappointing.

Yeah. But nah, it was definitely good though playing with those guys. You know, those guys I can consider, my brothers really. It's just like be able to build that bond with 'em, be able to have like their number and talk to 'em whenever. So I definitely cherish, you know, that year and a half with 'em for sure.

And what did you take from each one if you could?

Yeah.

There's one thing that you took from each one.

Yeah. Just Kai, you know, Kai first, just his patience offensively. I mean, he don't let nobody speed him up, especially in the league. I really try to take that. Just not letting nobody speed me up, get into my spots and just be able to make the shot. At my spot. You can't really learn much from K 'cause K like, you know, 7 feet doing what he do. So it's kind of hard to learn from him. Yeah. But at my size.

You just watch.

Yeah, you just watch and like, "Oh damn, that's tough." And then James, like, you know, like I said before, like I really patterned my game after James when he was in Houston, just watching. Like I really tried to pattern my game after him a little bit, but still take stuff from him. But I really tried to pattern my game after him when he was in Houston with the ball in his hand. The step-back threes and stuff, all the, you know, iso moves. So I really try to pattern my game after James a little bit. So, you know, before I even got there, I was already tapped in with watching James and stuff, knowing all his moves and stuff.

So yeah.

That, that— Man, that's amazing.

That brings me to a point. He play with 3— I'm sorry, go ahead. No, I was about to say that—

No, I was just gonna say he play with 3 players that have flawless offensive games. No offensive deficiencies. So that was it. Go ahead.

I was going to ask because I saw James make a comment the other day and I actually— most people would take it as a slight at Steph. I don't take it as a slight at Steph because quite frankly, A, the man just said Steph was in a realm of his own. So yeah, respect that. But he made a valid point and he was talking about, um, the way that he played basketball and the step backs and all of that. Like how much a lot of people drew from his game. And so I guess my question to you is, and coming up during that time, obviously I'm in it and I'm playing, do you think more young guys like yourself were watching James and saying, oh man, I wanna play like that. Or watching Steph and saying that?

That's a good question. I think, We were mainly, we, I think we really gravitated towards James 'cause James was doing the isos and like breaking people down one-on-one, scoring the 40s and 50s. I think Steph really changed the way teams wanted to play the game of basketball, shooting the threes, the pace of, you know, the pace y'all play at, just moving around without the ball. I think Steph really changed the way the teams around the league tried to play. James really changed the individual play of, you know, players like the, like the isos, really me, just the isos, the handles, step backs, shooting tough shots, you know, just the foul drawing, just all that stuff. I think James really changed the individual skill of how players wanted to play the game. Steph really changed like the team culture, just, you know, everybody wanna shoot threes now. Everybody, if you can't shoot threes, you can't play. So it was like, he really changed, definitely changed the team aspect of the league for sure.

Wow. That's, that's, that's incredible.

I, I never thought about it that way.

Yeah. Yeah, for sure.

Especially from the young dudes. It's good to hear from the young dudes. Sure. You know, it's like who y'all gravitating to. Yeah. Right? And who you patterning your game after is, and Draymond, go back to really the statement that Harden made.

Yeah.

You know what I mean? It's like, it is a difference between what Steph do and how he get it done. And you know, Harden, and I think like this next generation, like you guys are all so weaponized. Yes.

Offensively.

You know what I mean? It's just like, you can just tell, you just in the lab working on your, you know what I mean? You just working on your arsenal. For real.

You know what I'm saying? Yeah. So yeah, I think James is, James and Steph are like the two of this, of our, for us, for our generation, for the young guys, is just like the one and two. So, you know, credit to those guys for changing the game. But you know, it's our time now for sure. So yeah.

No, no doubt. And I—

What player surprised you the most? Like game-wise, you like, damn, that dude, come on, I need to take inventory on him.

Ooh, that's a good question. It'd be a lot of people that kill us and I'm like, hey, I didn't know he was like that. We always had that game, like everybody go crazy on us. But I'd probably say my second year, Brandon Ingram, at the beginning of the year, he was, yeah, he was, I was like, yeah, he cold. Like he was pulling up over K, making it, just getting to his spots. I was like, yeah, he cold for sure.

That's tough. That's tough. It's funny to hear you say that. Like, man, somebody always get off on us that's not supposed to.

Always.

It's because every, everyone in the league, Like if you play meaningful minutes, like you're now doing, like you are the focal point of a team now. But what you'll realize is, and you may not have found that person yet because this is your, like this is the most you've played consistently.

Yeah, yeah.

This year where the ball is like, and it's like your coach is inviting you to be Cam. You know what I'm saying? Like I think this is the first time your coach has invited you.

Oh yeah, totally.

Yeah.

You can't.

All right, so I think you'll probably start to figure it out, but there's always a guy in the league that if you say that person's name, people would never know that that's the guy you struggle with. So like for instance, we used to always joke, like the guy I used to struggle with the most was Taj Gibson. Like Taj Gibson may be one of the only people that I've ever in my career, I asked for a switch. Like I was like, 'Cause Jermaine O'Neal was on my team at the time.

It was my second year.

And I'm like, "J-O, you gotta guard him, man. I'm gonna go guard Joe Kim." "No, like I can't. He giving me fits, J-O. Like you gotta guard." And at that time I'm trying to keep my minutes, you know what I'm saying? Like I'm trying to stay on the floor. So like, "J-O, you gotta go guard him." It was Taj Gibson for me. Every time I play Taj Gibson, he would give me hell. For Steph, Ricky Rubio. Every time Steph would play Ricky Rubio, Ricky Rubio would give us hell. KD, it was actually slow-mo. Kyle Anderson used to give KD fits when we would play against Kyle Anderson. And so to hear you say like, yo, it's always one guy that like outta nowhere he just cook us.

Bruh, I'm like in heavy help, you know, like they're like, oh, he's not really gonna shoot much. I'm in heavy help. And then he go hit 3, 4 threes. I'm like, I mean, what you want me to do?

Like you told me— Like Jalen Wilson did to me last night.

But nah, Jay Wilkins too.

Listen, they were like, yo, he could shoot, he could shoot some, but he, you know, like he more so wanna drive. Man, he came out busting my ass. Then he drove, put his shoulder in my chest. I'm like, yo, what's up, man? Like I had no idea this dude could hoop like this, man. He was cooking me last night. I had no clue. Big shoulder, big shoulder. Man, he hit me with a crazy shoulder and they reversed the call. I'm like, bro, he can't just bear into me like that, bro. It's crazy. Hey, young fella played well though.

Really well. Yeah, for sure though. You know, credit to all the young guys.

My dude was— They did.

Yes, they did.

Y'all got some young talent, man. Y'all got some hell of a talent. I like the young pieces. My dude was José Calderón. I don't know if it's a Spain thing. But I couldn't stand Jose Calderon for some reason. He always outplayed me when we played, dude. I was like, ah, great player, great point guard. You only have these games against me, dude.

Jose got paid off you. Like, bro.

Hey, bro, serious. Serious, bro.

Nah.

That's—

I hate that.

It's like, dang, dude, I gotta play against this dude. You know, everything they gonna do and they gonna beat you doing it.

Facts.

But that's the beauty of the league though. You know what I mean? It's like the league is always about matchups, right? And you never know who has your number. You know what I mean?

No, totally. Yeah. That's beauty of the league. And it's never all—

Who do you, who do you like? Who do you like going up against? Who are the top 3 people when you see them? You like, "Okay, okay, it's about that time. Oh yeah, it's that time. Come on, man, give me 3 people. Come on, we gonna set that, we gonna start this league right now." I can't do that.

Nah, I can't do that. It's the whole league. I like playing against the whole league.

It's the whole league.

Yeah, I like playing against the whole league. Line it up.

It's the top dogs.

Yep. That's how I always felt about it. Line it up, you know? I don't really duck no smoke from no team. Just line it up. I don't care who the team is. I'm coming out there to play aggressive.

Who do you want to know? Hey, I got smoke for y'all. Every time I see y'all, it's up. I got smoke for y'all.

Everybody. Every team, bro. I'm telling you, every team. I got every team. I don't play, I don't pick no favorites. It's every team. I don't care who it is.

I respect it.

Everybody equal.

I respect, guess what? You know why? 'Cause ain't shit funny. That's it. Like, that's it right there. Like, I'm not— that's the same person. I'm not impressed by none. Not one of y'all are gonna make me feel like I need to do more against you. Ain't shit funny. That's all in the same. You gotta give people that, bro.

That's that part I don't— That's the same thing. That's that part I don't—

Like, ain't shit funny. I don't care about none of y'all. Like, I'm not moved by you. I'm moved by going to get these buckets. Ain't shit funny. You know, like, that's, ah, you got it, bro. I'm telling you, you got it.

It's right in front of you.

That's your thing.

Yeah. Yeah, that's your mantra, bro. That's your persona. Like, yeah, the big homie, you know, that's a blessing. You know what I mean? Embrace that, 'cause you are that. You know what I mean? You are that. Like, ain't nobody laughing when they got a matchup with you.

It ain't funny.

They got work. They got some work to do. Yeah. No.

You feel me?

That for sure, man. So take that with you for sure.

And just speaking of your team, you know, like I said, I think y'all are having a much better year than anyone anticipated.

Yeah.

Right.

You know, coming off a couple wins to end off a tough West Coast road trip. You know, y'all come off of winning against us or winning against Kings, winning against us. Y'all got Phoenix. But you know, how do you see this season now playing out for y'all? Like, dude, does it feel like the tune of the organization is changing with the success that y'all are having?

Yeah, honestly, from, you know, preseason and stuff, I think everybody wanted to come out and win games. Obviously, you know, nobody wants to go out there to lose every game. So I think the motto that we had was just be competitive, like be physical, be connected. You know, wherever that takes us, takes us. But I think we really, as players, really bought into our, to the new staff, to what they're teaching us. So I think that's really helped us and us really like, we like playing together. I think, I think we like playing together and we really wanna prove the doubters wrong. So I think we always felt we were, you know, good enough to play like how we are now. I think, and I think honestly we, we dropped some games that we could have won. So I think our record could be— Right. I think our record could be much better than what it is, honestly. So I think we were just, we were like right there, you know, it's always like just, you know, young team stuff, learning how to finish the game. So I think we just going through that sometimes and you know, I think we got a really good year. We just gotta keep sticking with it and have a really good year. Just keep sticking with what we doing.

Yes, sir. And your ankle, like how you feel about that? Like will you miss a bunch of time with that or will it be?

Nah, nah, nah, nah. I shouldn't, it's not even my ankle. It's, I think it was like just my left hammy tightness.

Right.

It's nothing wrong with it. Just didn't feel right finishing. Probably could have made it worse if I kept playing against y'all. So I was just like, you know, I'm just let the young guys play, finish it up. And then, you know, credit to them that y'all, everybody stepped up making shots, playing hard. So, you know, we gonna need a lot of people to step up, you know, when I'm out. So definitely need that.

Courtney is y'all trainer, right?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yeah, it's living that training room, bro. Get back out on that court so you can—

For sure, bro, you know it.

You could be an All-Star this year. By the way, what do you feel about the case you're making to be an All-Star this year in the East, especially where Damian Lillard hasn't had as great of a year, the Philadelphia 76ers having a down year. You know, you got a lot of guys that ain't—

Yeah, I'm not doing nothing.

That's been All-Stars that ain't necessarily playing as good as you're playing. What's your case and how you looking at that?

Yeah, I'm definitely, definitely looking to, you know, have my name in that convo for sure. I think I'm making a great case, especially for how our team was projected to be to start the year. They was projecting us to be the worst team in the league. And then, you know, we're coming out surprising people. And then my play, you know, speaks for itself. So I think I'm definitely making a great case early on. I mean, it's still early, but I definitely wanna keep it up and hopefully, you know, have my name be All-Star this year for sure.

Let's go, man. You got to say, you got the city, you're one of the best cities, basketball cities, you know, uh, in the world. Talk about just, you know, uh, as we wrap up, just what New York, you know what I mean? And being in New York, you said it's like a second home, how they embrace you. Just talk about that energy and like how basketball is just so exciting. Like every day you wake up.

Yeah, bro. Just, uh, even like My rookie year, when I first got drafted, everybody loved me. Like, even, you know, social media, all the fans, they loved the pick. And then, you know, every time I got in, whether it was at the end of the game or, you know, get surprised, throwing me in, like, second or third quarter, and I go out there, hit a crazy shot or start cooking, then, you know, the whole crowd in the arena go crazy. So I just feel like that's really, like I said, my second home. Like, they love Cam Thomas. So every time I'm at home, I try to put on a show for them, like, the best way I can. Yeah, so, 'cause you never know, you know, you never know, you know, somebody new might come, never saw you play before and you wanna put on a great show. 'Cause you know, I just love to put on a show for the Brooklyn crowd for sure. So I just really love it.

I just processed, you told me before the show started, you said, oh yeah, we play Phoenix and then we flying after the game. And I, in my mind, I'm like, y'all flying on a red-eye? That's crazy. The red-eye mess you up for a couple days. But it just dawned on me that y'all are flying on the red-eye 'cause it's Thanksgiving. Yeah. Go to the crib on Thanksgiving.

I swear the league make you forget the days. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah, I was gonna ask y'all that. Like, you know, holidays was always the worst. You know what I mean?

Awful. Awful.

Sometimes you make it home. Sometimes you don't, man. Both of y'all tell, tell the people who are going to be at home eating these delicious ass turkeys, stuffing. This is me, yams, you know, mac and cheese. Y'all can't eat none of that shit. And y'all probably not gonna be around, you know, usually it's like, oh, Thanksgiving I'm home, Christmas I'm away. Talk about just that, both of y'all just, how tough it is being away from family. Yeah. And traveling during the holidays at this time playing games.

Yeah, just for me personally, I always spent holidays with my fam. So my first few years in the league, I haven't, even now, I haven't spent Christmas home once with my mom or something. I never spent Christmas home once. So we always left out or left out or had to stay somewhere 'cause you know, we got another game. So it's always, it's always tough with that, but you know, it is what it is. It's part of the league. And Thanksgiving, this is probably my first Thanksgiving where I actually have a chance to be home on an off day. And so yeah, that was definitely dope for sure. It's definitely tough though.

Draymond Green gets no Christmas.

No, he's gonna, yeah, I'm about to say he don't count for Christmas.

10 years. Do you even know what Christmas is? You on the biggest stage.

I really, I really, really, really appreciate '88 Thanksgiving because we don't get a Christmas. Last year I got a Christmas for the first time 'cause I was suspended. That was about the only silver lining of being suspended is I was actually like, not even just Christmas Day.

Yeah.

But I was home for the holiday weeks. Like I was home for Thanksgiving, then I was home for the week leading into Christmas with all the Christmas carols with my kids. And then I was home for New Year's. I was with my family for all the holiday weeks. So shout out to all them idiots that said I was a crash out. I'm smarter than you. I got to spend the holiday with my family.

Yeah, go and look at it for sure.

The silver lining, man. We always look at the positive.

Look at the positive out it, yeah.

So that's what it is. What's your go-to Thanksgiving dinner before we get outta here? What you gotta have on Thanksgiving?

Mac and cheese. It's a mandatory. That's mandatory for sure.

Gotta have mac and cheese.

You don't got mac and cheese there, you don't know what you doing.

And who cooking the meal?

Growing up, it was always my grandma. So she always cooked, always cooked.

Love it.

Recently, recently it's been my mom though. But you know, if I'm home or not. So yeah, but really my grandma should really be cooking, cooking up and stuff.

Is mom gonna meet you in Brooklyn since you gonna be home?

Yeah, yeah.

Let's go.

You gonna be there.

Let's go.

You gonna be there.

Eat up, eat up.

Let's go, that's fire.

Yeah.

Now, BD, you got something else?

I just wanna make some Draymond Greens. I wish that I could go to the store and go into Ralph's or Kroger's and get some frozen Draymond Greens.

I've been dying to—

why don't we have Draymond Greens? This would be the best thing for Thanksgiving. Next Thanksgiving, dog, we gotta have Draymond Greens.

I'm looking into that. I'm looking into that. Killer Cam, we appreciate you, man. Thank you for coming on the show. It is great. To talk to you, to hear you speak, to, and I won't say the disrespectful thing that most people say is like, you speak well. Like, did you think I was dumb? Like, I'm not gonna say it. I'm just happy to hear you speak and know that you talk.

Yeah, absolutely.

And you smile.

Yeah, no, I'm happy to be able to be here.

And that you got a personality.

Yeah.

And we thank you for coming on the show. And before BD say something, before you say something, I just wanna say again, give it to him, brother. They would love it. The way you score the ball. Yeah. It's special.

Yeah.

Give them the next thing. Don't fall into the trap. It's just about buckets. The Brooklyn Nets gonna pay you a lot of money to be that franchise guy. They gotta be able to do more with it. You know what I'm saying? So just know that. Give it to 'em, bro. Ain't shit funny if ain't shit funny. Figure it out. Got you.

Yep. That's all I gotta say. Ain't shit funny, baby. That's the persona, you know what I mean? Appreciate having you.

Nah, man, appreciate y'all having me on, man.

I need my two things, man. I'm still not gonna let you get away with that pocket pass. I'm gonna be hitting you too, bro. I'll be DMing you like, yo, with them rebounds, with them steals.

I got you.

Tell 'em, Dray, I'll be tapped in. I'll be tapped in.

Respect. I appreciate y'all for having me though, man. I appreciate it.

Yes, sir, bro. Good luck the rest of this year. Get healthy and know that if you supposed— now understand what I'm saying here. I ain't saying rush back before you healthy.

Yeah, yeah.

But know that in order to be the top dog, if you can be back in 4, then work your ass off and do everything to prove to them that, nah, I was ready in 3 because I did everything.

Yeah.

You know what I'm saying? Get back. Do everything you gotta do to get back because that's gonna determine if you can become an All-Star or not. And you deserve that.

100, appreciate y'all, man. Appreciate that.

Yes, sir.

Much love, bro.

Much love, man.