Nets’ Nic Claxton and Cam Thomas snubbed from ESPN’s NBA Top 100 list

Claxton has emerged as one of the NBA’s top defenders over the last two seasons. The 24-year-old has been a weapon in Brooklyn’s switch-heavy scheme, making a case for the league’s best perimeter-defending center. Claxton ranks fourth in the NBA in stocks (steals + blocks) over the last two seasons, trailing only Anthony Davis, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Brook Lopez.

He’s also made significant offensive strides during that span. While Claxton has limitations as a traditional center, he’s developed as a self-creator and finisher, flashing an array of crafty moves on short rolls, fastbreaks, putbacks and duck-ins. The former second-round pick leads the NBA in field goal percentage (66.7) among players to average six or more shots per game over the last two seasons.

Claxton made numerous other Top 100 lists ahead of this season, including ClutchPoints (67), CBS Sports (91), The Ringer (91) and Action Network (90). When factoring in age and injury concerns, he has a strong case to be ahead of several centers on ESPN’s list, including Al Horford, Jonas Valanciunas and Mitchell Robinson.

Claxton has been among Nets general manager Sean Marks’ most successful development stories since he selected the Georgia product 31st in the 2019 draft. Brooklyn rewarded the big man with a four-year, $97 million contract this summer. He will be a focal point of their gameplan on both ends of the floor in 2024-25.

The case for Cam Thomas

Thomas has been a polarizing player since he entered the league due to concerns about his size, defense and playmaking. However, he burst onto the scene last year after spending his first two NBA seasons on Brooklyn’s bench. The 22-year-old’s scoring ability was on full display, as he led the Nets offense at 22.5 points per game on 44/36/86 shooting splits.

His 11.9-point scoring jump from the prior season was the highest in the NBA.

While Thomas still has plenty of room to grow the rest of his game, he showed encouraging development during his first full season in an NBA rotation. The LSU product improved as a playmaker with added on-ball reps, averaging 4.0 assists per game over two months late in the year. He was also very effective as an off-ball floor-spacer, shooting a career-high 43.6 percent on catch-and-shoot threes.

Thomas doesn’t have a case as strong as Claxton’s due to legitimate questions about the value of his player archetype. He’s an undersized, high-usage guard who is below league-average in shooting efficiency and needs to improve as a defender. However, with only one real season of NBA action under his belt, he possesses natural scoring ability that few other players his age showcase.

While the Nets should be among the worst teams in the league this season, Thomas will have a prime opportunity as the team’s unquestioned lead offensive option. There’s little doubt he’ll continue to fill it up as a scorer. If he can improve his efficiency while rounding out the supporting aspects of his game, his omission from this list could look silly by the end of the season.