NBA Summer League: Jaylon Tyson Sits Out; Mady Sissoko Plays Little

Mady Sissoko did not play much and Jaylon Tyson did not play at all in NBA Summer League action on Saturday.

Both former Cal basketball players were on teams that played games on Saturday, but neither made an impact.

Tyson, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ second-year pro, sat out his second straight Summer League game on Saturday when the Cavs faced the Golden State Warriors. It’s unclear whether Tyson has a minor injury or the Cavs are simply cutting back his playing time, but he was in street clothes again on Saturday. There is nothing seriously wrong with Tyson.

He is hoping to get increased playing time for the Cavs in 2025-26, and he averaged 19.7 points, 6.7 assists and 5.7 rebounds as a starter in the Cavs’ first three summer games. So he has already shown he may earn increased playing time this coming season after being the Cavs' first-round draft pick in 2024.

Meanwhile, the Thunder seems to have lost interest in Sissoko, who was signed by Oklahoma City as an undrafted free agent just before summer league play began.  He started all three of the Thunder’s games in the Salt Lake City Summer League, but he has barely seen the floor when the venue moved to Las Vegas.

Sissoko did not play at all in the Thunder’s first two games in Vegas, and he played four minutes minutes in the third game on Tuesday, picking up two points, one rebound and one steal.

On Saturday, against Charlotte, Sissoko did not get into the game until 6:37 remained in the third quarter with Charlotte leading by 27 points.  He played just one minute in the third quarter, then got eight more minutes of court time in the fourth quarter of the Hornets’ 109-80 victory.

Sissoko finished with one point while going 0-for-2 from the floor (including a missed uncontested layup attempt) and 1-for-2 from the foul line in his nine minutes on the court. However, he managed to pick up three rebounds in his short stint, and committed one turnover and two personal fouls.

Sissoko faced long-shot odds to get invited to the Thunder’s preseason camp when the summer began, and now those odds are even longer.  Sissoko must hope he can latch on to a G-League team or a pro team overseas.

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