Cavs Get First Round NBA Draft Value With Meleek Thomas at Pick 34

With the 34th pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, the Cleveland Cavaliers took Arkansas three-and-d guard Meleek Thomas.

The Cavs traded their 29th pick in the first round to go into the early second round with the Sacramento Kings

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Thomas, a member of the SEC all-Freshman team during his college season, was a sharp shooter for John Calipari’s team shooting 44% from the floor, 41% from the perimeter, 84% from the free-throw line, and a 52% effective field goal percentage.

“We believe we got a first-round talent in Meleek Thomas,” Cavs President of Basketball Koby Altman said in his Zoom call on Wednesday evening with the media.

Asking around to a few NBA scouts as well, there are a lot of people who agree with Altman’s evaluation. He was described as a a gym rat by his former head coach, and was part of a very skilled team that included Darius Acuff Jr. who was taken in the first round by the Sacramento Kings as well as Trevon Brazille who was taken the pick after Thomas by the Denver Nuggets.

Altman mentioned that during the NBA Summer League, the Cavs will be using him as a point guard, clarifying that he had to play a lot of off-ball offensively due to playing along Acuff during his college career.

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During his interview with ESPN after being selected Thomas showed a lot of confidence in himself.

“The work is going to show for itself. In due time, everybody gone wake up and realize.”, Thomas told ESPN. His gym rat reputation, is something that many teams saw in his profile during his draft workouts.

Thomas’s highlights from Arkansas:

Mar 21, 2026; Portland, OR, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks guard Meleek Thomas (1) drives against High Point Panthers guard Scotty Washington (12) in the first half during a second round game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images | Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images

During his year at Arkansas, Thomas had nine games scoring 20 or more points including a 30-point performance vs Missouri.

The…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/cavs-first-round-nba-draft-132146105.html

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Publish date : 2026-06-25 13:21:00

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