Nets' Cam Thomas to miss remainder of season with hamstring strain

NEW YORK — Cam Thomas re-injured his left hamstring in Thursday’s 116-110 road loss to the Chicago Bulls and will miss the remainder of the 2024-25 regular season, the Nets announced on Saturday.

Thomas suffered two prior strains to the same hamstring this season, which forced him to miss 13 straight games from Nov. 27-Dec. 27 and 24 straight games from Jan. 4-Feb. 26.

“Disappointed,” head coach Jordi Fernandez said. “You know, we feel for him. Obviously, it’s not something that we wanted. And we’ll support him, support him through rehab because he’ll be back. Obviously, having him around is going to be good for him, good for us. But unfortunately, you don’t want your best scorer to go.”

Thomas sustained the injury on his final shot attempt against the Bulls, a step-back 3-pointer from 26-feet with nine seconds left, according to Fernandez. It is unclear if Thomas will need a special procedure to assist in his recovery.

“We’ll do what’s best for him and we’ll help,” Fernandez said. “We’ll work with him and his group, and we’ll get him back healthy, which is the most important thing.”

Thomas averaged 24 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists across 25 appearances in his fourth season as a pro while shooting 43.8% from the field, 34.9% from 3-point range and 88.1% from the free-throw line. He recorded a career-high 10 assists in Brooklyn’s recent loss to Chicago.

The 23-year-old will be a restricted free agent this summer, meaning he can negotiate with other teams, but the Nets have the right to match any offer sheet he receives and can retain him if they choose. He finished eight starts shy of meeting the “starter criteria,” so his qualifying offer will be worth $5.9 million instead of $8.7 million.

“Cam’s been great for the group,” Fernandez said. “He’s worked every single day. He’s built relationships. We all know his superpower is being a very good scorer. He’s done a good job with his efficiency, his playmaking. … We’ll go through the summer together. We have a plan in place, and that plan is going to be to be a team that wins consistently and we’re going to get there together.”

Hayes returns to Long Island

Killian Hayes’ 10-day contract with the Nets, which was originally agreed to on Feb. 20, expired on March 1. The 23-year-old returned to the team’s G League affiliate on Long Island Friday night, finishing with a career-high 38 points, five rebounds and six assists off the bench against the Memphis hustle. He knocked down eight 3-pointers and shot 60% from the field.

If the Nets want Hayes back with the big club — which may be considered with Thomas out for the rest of the season — they must give him another 10-day contract or sign him to a standard NBA deal. He averaged nine points, three rebounds and 5.2 assists in six games with Brooklyn, including five straight starts after D’Angelo Russell was sidelined because of a right ankle sprain.

Social media success

While the Nets may be struggling on the court, they’ve continued to surge in the social media landscape. It was announced on Friday that Brooklyn surpassed the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs to become the No. 1 American professional sports team in overall TikTok likes at 151.8 million.

The Golden State Warriors, the most-followed team in the league on TikTok with 6.2 million followers, have the second-most likes in the league and just over 84 million, according to Alyssa Meyers of Marketing Brew. Brooklyn still has a top-5 following with 2.8 million.

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