It was a disappointing night for the Cleveland Cavaliers. They lost to the Charlotte Hornets. Certainly not an ideal loss, especially considering how many players have been out for the Hornets. But there was a bright spot. The same bright spot that has been shining all year for the Cavs: Rookie Meleek Thomas.
Ever since Kenny Atkinson began handing him regular playing opportunities, Thomas has been making the most of them. He already looks like the type of player Cleveland should keep in its rotation every night. Despite being the 34th pick in the 2026 NBA Draft (a second-rounder), Thomas is already playing at a very high level.
This season hasn’t been perfect for the Cavaliers, but if there’s one thing that’s certain, it’s that Thomas can’t stop making the Cavs look like geniuses for picking him in this year’s draft.
Meleek Thomas making the Cavaliers look great
The selection has a chance to go down as one of the biggest steals of the draft cycle. Obviously, there have been a ton of impressive rookies – guys like Yaxel Lendeborg and Darius Acuff Jr. – but the Cavs didn’t have the luxury of a high draft pick.
Cleveland had a second-round pick. It had to make the most of its draft position. And that’s exactly what the Cavs ended up doing. Thomas keeps helping their pick pay off.
Again, the loss to Charlotte was disappointing, but that doesn’t take away from how good Thomas looked coming off the bench. He played great yet again.
In his 26:40 of playing time off the bench, Thomas finished the game with 18 points, three rebounds, three assists, two steals, and two blocks. He shot 7-of-12 from the field and 4-of-6 from beyond the arc.
Thomas has been on fire from beyond the arc this season. He’s scoring whenever he’s on the floor. He’s impacting the game at a very high level, especially for a 20-year-old rookie.
At this point, it seems like the Cavs couldn’t have done much better with their second-rounder. Not only did they nail the pick, but they got a guy who provides them with a valuable skill.
With the departure of Ty Jerome last year and the losses of Max Strus and Dennis Schroder this summer, the Cavaliers were somewhat in need of a scoring punch off the pine. That’s what Thomas gives them.
Every time he steps onto the court for the Cavaliers, he makes them look liek draft geniuses.
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