The latest injury news and possible return dates for Brooklyn Nets players.
Here is the latest news and possible return dates for Nets players…
Dec. 21, 11:10 a.m.
Cam Thomas (left hamstring strain) and Ziaire Williams (knee) will remain out and miss Saturday’s game against the Utah Jazz, the Nets announced.
Thomas has missed the Nets last nine games and was expected to miss three weeks with the hamstring strain. He’ll be re-evaluated this weekend to determine when he can return to the court. The 23-year-old is averaging 24.7 points this season over 17 games.
Williams, 23, has been out since Dec. 1, missing the last six games. He progressed to on-court contract workouts with coaches on Thursday and is expected to rejoin team activities within the next week, according to YES Network’s Meghan Triplett.
The former No. 10 overall pick has shown promise in his first season in Brooklyn, averaging 8.6 points on 40.3 percent shooting over 21 games.
Nov. 27, 1:57 p.m.
Nets star Cam Thomas — who’s been their leading scorer this season — is out at least three weeks with a left hamstring strain, then he’ll be re-evaluated, the team said. Thomas is averaging 24.7 points this season, and shooting 38.9 percent from three.
Brooklyn (8-10), which has won three out of its last four games, will also be without Nic Claxton (lower back injury, day-to-day) and Noah Clowney (left ankle sprain, will be re-evaluated in two weeks) against the Suns in Phoenix on Wednesday night.
The team added that Day’Ron Sharpe has resumed full on-court team activity and is expected to return to the lineup within the next week.
Nov. 22, 11:15 a.m.
The Nets announced that Cam Thomas (back tightness) is probable to play in tonight’s road game against the rival Philadelphia 76ers. Thomas, who sat out Tuesday’s home win over the Charlotte Hornets, has averaged a team-high 24.6 points in 14 games.
Nic Claxton, who’s been sidelined since last week with a lower back strain, is also probable to play Friday. The sixth-year center has played in 11 games this season, averaging 8.6 points and a team-best 7.7 rebounds.
There’s also optimism of Dorian Finney-Smith returning to action against the 76ers. The Nets say the veteran forward has been nursing a left ankle sprain, although he managed to score 15 points with three assists and three boards in 27 minutes against the Hornets.
Nov. 15, 12:05 p.m.
Nic Claxton has been diagnosed with a lower back strain, the Nets announced Friday.
The center is scheduled to receive an epidural injection later in the day and will be reevaluated in a week. Claxton will miss at least the next three games, including Friday night’s NBA Cup game against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
The 25-year-old is averaging 8.6 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists through the first 11 games of the season in 24.8 minutes per game. He has seen a slightly reduced role (averaging five minutes less of time on the floor) and made just five starts after starting in all 71 games he played a year ago.
Nov. 13, 6:16 p.m.
The Nets announced that Ben Simmons (calf tightness) and Dorian Finney-Smith (ankle sprain) are out for the team’s matchup with the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night.
Head coach Jordi Fernandez said that Simmons had an MRI on his calf but the results were not in yet, but should be considered day-to-day.
Simmons scored six points, and added five rebounds and 12 assists in 22 minutes in Brooklyn’s 107-105 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. The guard has played in eight of the Nets’ 11 games this season heading into Wednesday.
As for Finney-Smith, this will be the forward’s second missed game in a row. He last played in Saturday’s 105-100 loss to the Cavaliers.
Fernandez said he wanted the 31-year-old to be “200 percent” when he returns to the court.
Nov. 9, 1:00 p.m.
Ben Simmons will not play on Saturday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers (10-0) due to lower back injury management, the team announced.
Simmons scored eight points on 4-for-6 shooting with eight assists, seven rebounds, and one steal over 27 minutes in Friday’s OT loss to the Boston Celtics.
Head coach Jordi Fernandez indicated after the loss that Simmons would be out for the second game of the back-to-back.
Day’Ron Sharpe (left hamstring strain), Bojan Bogdanović (left foot injury recovery), and Trendon Watford (left hamstring strain) are all listed as out, too.
Simmons has played in seven of Brooklyn’s nine games so far during the 2024-25 season, but Friday was the first time he came off the bench. He was told prior to the game that he would not be starting.
“I think for the flow of the team, whatever the team needs me to do, whether it’s come off the bench or starting, I gotta do,” Simmons told reporters. “That’s what coach wants right now. It is what it is.”
It’s unclear if Fernandez and the Nets plan to have Simmons come off the bench for the remainder of the season. Simmons expressed optimism that “things change all the time” in the NBA and is prepared to take on the new role for the time being.
The former No. 1 overall pick is averaging 6.1 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 6.4 assists per game over 24.9 minutes of action this year. He played just 15 games for the Nets during the 2023-24 season after logging 42 games during the 2022-23 season. Simmons did not play during the 2021-22 season due to injury and was traded by the Philadelphia 76ers to Brooklyn as part of the James Harden deal.
