Do the Cleveland Cavaliers regret selecting Jaylon Tyson with the 20th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft? Probably not. The second-year wing is quickly turning into a strong player built in the mold of what this contending roster needs. However, there is another name who was taken behind him that is already looking even better.
Kyshawn George is taking a massive leap in his sophomore season with the Washington Wizards. The 21-year-old has more than doubled his scoring so far from his rookie year, and this is a guy who could have been donning wine and gold.
George was selected with the 24th overall pick, a few slots after Tyson was taken. For the Cavaliers to not look back at this one with remorse, their young contributor needs to keep adding to what has been a promising start to his second season.
Kyshawn George's rise is putting pressure on Jaylon Tyson to keep pace
The obvious needs to be stated first. These two players are being put in two completely different environments as far as their development goes.
George is being given all the freedom to explore aspects of his game that a player on a contending team like Tyson will simply never be afforded. Still, it is hard to look away from just how good the Wizards youngster has been.
George has averaged 17.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.1 steals, and 1.3 blocks in 31.1 minutes per game during the Wizards' first seven games of the 2025-26 season. That comes with a 67.9 true shooting percentage that is built on 55.3 percent from the field and 53.8 percent from beyond the arc.
Tyson was a strong on-ball player in his final year of NCAA basketball with the California Golden Bears. One could argue that given a similar opportunity to George, the Cavaliers wing could be enjoying that same type of success in Washington.
The Cavaliers have asked Tyson to grow his off-ball game to better fit with the make-up of their contending team. The two-way swingman has responded in the absence of several key rotational pieces.
Tyson is averaging 10.9 points per game, shooting 50.0 percent from the field and 44.1 percent from deep. That comes with a strong, albeit foul-prone, brand of defense. The development has been good, but even in the areas of shooting and defense, one could make the argument George outshines him.
The buyer's remorse does not truly exist with Tyson, not really. However, the Cavaliers will need to see him firmly establish himself as a reliable part of a championship contender throughout the entirety of 2025-26 to wholeheartedly not think any two ways about the situation for the foreseeable future.