"She's my mom, she's my personal coach, she's the one who introduced me to basketball," Nets star CAM Thomas said in an interview.
Let's go back to March Madness 2021, and in an apartment in Bloomington, Indiana, a mother is asking her neighbors for forgiveness for screaming too loudly during a football game.
The mother was unable to go to the stadium because of the epidemic, so she had to keep an eye on her son in front of the TV.
That was also the day the 19-year-old Thomas scored 27 points to help LSU beat seeded St. Bonavente 76-61 in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
The US five-star high school students, the predicted draft NBA first round pick, the US freshman scoring champion, even if it is so, CAM - Thomas is still unknown, low-key character so that he is always ignored by the media, mother Leslie - Thomas said: "cam's basketball strength I know, we don't care about things other than basketball," Leslie did not have the common kindness and simplicity of middle-aged women, but more perseverance and elan.
As a young woman, she served in the U.S. Army and as an administrative specialist in Korea. A decade after retiring from the military, Leslie gave birth to CAM Thomas in Japan.
Thomas fell in love with basketball when he was 5 years old, watching his sister shoot hoops at a nearby recreation center.
The family erected a basket in the garage, and because Leslie herself was a high school basketball player, she taught her son how to shoot - first dribbling, then mid-range jumpers, and finally three-pointers.
A recreation center within walking distance of their home became a practice area for mother and son. They went there once a day, and when others hired a personal trainer to develop their son's basketball skills, Leslie declined. She said, "That's my job!"
At the age of seven, Thomas made 33 free throws in a row to win a game. He was then invited to the AAU team, often playing against 9 - and 10-year-olds and beating them easily.
As a teenager, CAM fell in love with Kobe Bryant and asked his mother to transform his bedroom into Kobe's world, with sheets, blankets and rugs. Kobe's portrait was all over the room.
He even painted the walls in Lakers purple and gold. Every Saturday game, Thomas struts around in bright green sneakers and says, "Mom, these are Kobe 6's!"
Time flies, and Thomas is in a high school basketball league, too, and Leslie can be heard yelling instructions at her son from the stands at every game, louder than anyone else.
Steve Smith, a high school basketball coach at Oak Hill Academy, recalled: "I could hear her in our stands giving a coach's speech - Don't over-handle the ball!" Go for the layup!
Smith said: "I think CAM is playing really well for his age, but Lesley disagrees with me. She was always CAM's harshest critic."
Even in the NBA, CAM would call his mom after every game. Leslie would ask if CAM realized what he had done wrong in the recent race.
In college, mother and son moved together to Baton Rouge and rented an apartment. Leslie cooked for his son, did laundry, and then sat with CAM, poring over videos of Bryant and James Harden, trying to perfect his offense by learning their new moves.
Leslie, who rarely goes out except to watch her son's games or buy groceries, said CAM can't get sick in the middle of basketball season. "I need to take care of him. I need to do everything I can for my son," she said.
In the 2021 NBA Draft, CAM Thomas was selected with the 27th overall pick in the first round by the Brooklyn Nets, thus entering the NBA.
In the recent two games, CAM - Thomas blasted 47 points and 44 points respectively, becoming the biggest surprise of the Nets. But for this young man, it was just the beginning.
Thomas said: "The connection between us is pale in any word. We're best friends. Is the closest confidant. It was my teachers and students, and it was my mother who got me where I am today!"
