Portland Trail Blazers forward Toumani Camara remained one of the most underappreciated players in the NBA on Monday against the Brooklyn Nets.
Camara led the Trail Blazers to a lopsided 134–99 win over the Nets, scoring a career-high 35 points and nine three-pointers. He made 10 of 12 shots from the field, including 9 of 11 from beyond the arc. He also had three rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Portland won four of its last five assignments to improve to 36–37. They are just one game behind the Los Angeles Clippers for eighth place in the Western Conference.
Camara, who is in his third season in Rip City, set a new team record with his career night.
"Camara's 35 points are the most on 12 or fewer field goal attempts in Trail Blazers history," the team's official account on the
He also set two milestones after getting hot from three-point range.
"Camara's 9-for-11 (.818) three-point shooting performance marks the most made three-pointers by a @trailblazers player since February 26, 2023 (Damian Lillard) and the best three-point percentage with at least 10 three-point attempts since April 27, 2021 (Anfernee Simmons)," the Trail Blazers said.
The 25-year-old is having a breakout campaign, averaging career-best 13.0 points and 2.5 assists, 5.2 rebounds and 1.1 steals. He could make a case for a nod to the All-Defensive Team or get some votes for Most Improved Player.
Camara, who hails from Belgium, was drafted by the Phoenix Suns as the 52nd overall pick in 2023. However, he was shipped to the Trail Blazers as part of the three-team deal that sent Damian Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks.
He has slowly carved out a role in Portland, building an upstart core with Denny Avdija, Donovan Clingan, Shadden Sharp and Scooter Henderson.
