LAS VEGAS — Even on a Nets team with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving (at least for now), Cam Thomas doesn’t lack confidence. He never has, never will.
But coming back to the Las Vegas Summer League not only as the 2021 leading scorer (27 points per game) and co-MVP, but also after a strong rookie campaign in the NBA, that confidence has been complemented by comfort.
“It’s real different, just being more comfortable knowing what to expect,” said Thomas before scoring 31 points in the Nets’ 94-90 loss to the Bucks on Friday night. “So I’d say this year I’m more like prepared to what’s to come for summer league. So I’m just excited to be part of it.”
Though Thomas’ confidence may have led to some teams misreading him, which allowed him to fall in the 2021 NBA Draft, it was a selling point for the Nets, who selected him 27th overall. But Adam Caporn — who coached Thomas in his brief G-League stints with the Long Island Nets, and will coach the summer league squad — said it’s noticeable how much the team’s five second-year pros have grown.
“You can sense a different level of comfort for sure. And yeah, Cam is always confident, which I love,” Caporn said. “They have an expectation of themselves now to go out and put their best foot forward and compete to win. It’s a little bit different, especially from their positive. From ours, we want to help them get better, demonstrate that they have got better.”
The Nets tipped off Las Vegas Summer League Friday versus the Bucks with a strong roster. Thomas, Kessler Edwards, Day’Ron Sharpe and David Duke Jr. logged nearly 3,000 minutes combined last year for Brooklyn, with 40 starts between them.
And Thomas may have drawn more attention than any of them.
Sources told The Post that the Nets have received interest from multiple teams regarding the 6-foot-3, 210 pound guard, with league personnel saying he likely could bring back a first-round pick. The Cavaliers, Mavericks and Pelicans reportedly made concrete offers, according to LegionHoops.
But as Caporn said, the Nets need Thomas to keep improving. An inefficient shooter, he’s also being challenged to become a better defender, playmaker and leader.
“Cam’s gotten so much better,” Caporn said. “I’m really proud of him, working really hard. He can score, he’s an elite scorer. He’s going to score and we’re going to put the ball in his hand. I know he’s really grown as a defender, and he’s a guy that he’ll just make a lot of good decisions, underrated passer, willing passer.
“He’s done a good job leading this group. The last couple of days he’s practiced really hard, had a great attitude. The leadership responsibilities are the things that grow the most in the second year. He’s gotten better, I will say that.”
For his part, Thomas said Caporn and the other Nets coaches have worked with him on his overall game, from his on-ball defense to passing to his catch-and-shoot efficiency. After hitting just .270 from 3-point range as rookie, that makes sense.
“It’s really just everything: Playmaking, defense. I guess they want to see more catch-and-shoot 3s, so I’m working on that a lot. I’m just going to work on everything that they want me to. I just want to show everything out in summer league,” said Thomas, adding he had gotten positive feedback through the first few practices heading into the opener.
“Yeah, just [keep] doing what I’ve been doing, making plays, scoring the ball, leading, lead as much as I can. So far, just doing what I’ve been doing all summer.”
Though not the most verbal of players by nature, Thomas has embraced the added leadership responsibilities being put on his shoulders for a young summer league team with seven green rookies.
“Yeah, definitely,” Thomas said. “You just want to teach everything you learned from your first year to those guys, so they’ll know what to do. Last year I was just learning on the fly. So just me being able to help them as much as I can, it’s going to be big for them. So I just want to help as much as I can.”