Cavaliers' Meleek Thomas continues dominating NBA Summer League

Meleek Thomas. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Cavaliers' Meleek Thomas continues dominating NBA Summer League

By Mike J. Asti | Last updated Jul 13, 2026 11:32 PM ET

The impact of the NBA Summer League is debatable, but the Cleveland Cavaliers' second-round pick is making the most of his opportunity to test his game against other hopeful stars.

A day removed from scoring 30 against the Detroit Pistons, Meleek Thomas, 19, led both teams by putting up a summer-high 35 on Monday night.

Meleek Thomas was efficient and used five threes to reach 35 points

Thomas connected on 14-of-23 shots from the field and sank five threes en route to his big performance in Cleveland's 90-73 win over the Miami Heat.

Showing his versatility, Thomas added three rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block. Thomas was the only player on either team to even take 20 shots in the game.

He demonstrated an ability to quickly fire off shots from beyond the arc as well as driving right past defenders to get to the basket for easy layups.

Cleveland's second-round pick, Meleek Thomas, led the way in today's NBA Summer League action

35 PTS (game-high)
5 3PM

The @cavs secure the win over the Heat! pic.twitter.com/sbv46QHCmB
— NBA (@NBA) July 14, 2026

Thomas was initially drafted by Kings and then traded to Cavaliers

A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Thomas led Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School to the PIAA state championship as a junior before transferring to the Overtime Elite Academy. The Sacramento Kings selected Thomas with the 34th overall pick in the second round of the 2026 NBA Draft.

The Kings then subsequently traded Thomas to Cleveland. And Thomas has since made sure to show the Cavaliers they made the right decision in trading for him.

But before he could attempt to prove his worth in the NBA during the summer, Thomas averaged 15.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game as a freshman in the SEC at Arkansas. He shot 43.5% from the field.

Mike J. Asti

Mike Asti is an experienced media personality and journalist with a vast resume and skillset, most notably from time with TribLIVE Radio and WPXI-TV. Asti now serves as the Managing Editor of WV Sports Now, where he leads the coverage of WVU sports. He has also covered the Steelers, Penguins, Pirates and other teams within the Pittsburgh market

More must-reads: