Cam Thomas and his mother, Leslie Thomas, lived in Japan for a large portion of his early years. During his early years, his father, Dale MacMillon, was not present.
Came Thomas, born October 13, 2001, is a professional basketball player for the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) Brooklyn Nets.
Most regarded him as one of the top shooting guards in the 2020 class and a five-star recruit.
He scored more than 40 points in three consecutive games, making him the youngest player in NBA history. At that time, he was also a member of the LSU Tigers basketball team.
However, Thomas has rested and recovered from a few injuries in the previous games.
According to the Brooklyn Nets, the shooting guard will be out for at least three weeks after being diagnosed with a left hamstring strain.
Brooklyn Nets fans are missing Thomas and anxiously awaiting his return after the team’s woefully underperforming offense suffered a setback on Sunday.
Cam Thomas’s Mother, Leslie, Was a High School Basketball Player Before Enlisting in the US Army
Cam Thomas was born in Yokosuka, Japan, to Leslie Thomas and Dale MacMillan; however, the couple reportedly separated.
He has a sister named Shaniece Collin, who is ten years his senior; they are very close and communicate frequently.
In contrast, Cam Thomas’s mother encouraged him to pursue his passion and had faith in his ability.
"She’s his toughest critic."
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) March 21, 2021
Meet Leslie Thomas: Army veteran, perfectionist and mother/personal coach of LSU freshman star Cameron Thomas https://t.co/pvZF8MMqVZ pic.twitter.com/cagqa1snfB
Leslie was born and raised on the Virginia coast, and she used to play basketball while attending high school.
After graduating from high school, she enlisted in the U.S. Army and served for four years, including one year as an administrative specialist in Korea.
When she left the Army, she was an E4 who had served in Fort Jackson, South Carolina, Daegu, South Korea, and Fort Riley, Kansas.
Leslie left the Army to have her first child, Shaniece Collins, and then she had Cam while living in Japan.
When Cam was younger, his mother was his coach and the one who taught him the fundamentals of basketball.
Leslie claimed that she first became aware of her son’s love for basketball when he was around ten years old and was outperforming older players.
Even though she experimented with basketball trainers, she decided to be his main trainer.
She used to take him to the South Norfolk Community Centre in Chesapeake, Virginia, occasionally twice a day, to work on shooting and basics.
When discussing their training methods and experiences, Leslie said,
He would go shoot, I’d get his rebounds, And it’s strange because whenever we went, I was the only mother, the only parent in the gym. You would think he would be embarrassed, but no, some of the other kids would come over there and watch. And I would just go get his rebounds.
Thomas welcomed his mother’s basketball instruction and vividly remembers that she did not want him to miss free throws.
Leslie wouldn’t let him use a new move in a game unless he had mastered it by making ten consecutive strokes.
And she instilled in her son the belief that scoring is the goal of the game.
When discussing her support for her son’s dream and how it paid off, Leslie adds,
I’m going to help him get to his dream, and we just dove in together and look where we at.
Cam says his mother means the world to him, and he constantly appreciates her efforts. Her teaching and unwavering belief in his dream have left him eternally thankful.
The mother-son partnership paid off, as Thomas went on to overtake future NBA players Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Durant.
Cam Thomas was the school’s all-time top scorer at basketball powerhouse Oak Hill Academy.
Additional Information
- Thomas started playing basketball for Oscar F. Smith High School in Chesapeake, Virginia, as a freshman.
- Cam Thomas has a salary of $2,240,160 during the 2023-24 NBA season.
- He averaged a league-high 29.5 points per game in July 2019 and was named the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League’s Offensive Player of the Year.
