Jaylon Tyson

Tyson’s play improved throughout the NBA 2K25 Summer League, culminating in a 23-point effort in Saturday’s finale. The former Cal standout’s selection with the 20th overall pick was a bit surprising, but he has the talent and scoring ability to help the Cavaliers immediately. Tyson was highly efficient on Saturday, and while he’s likely headed toward a low-usage role as a rookie, he’ll be worth tracking during the preseason.

After struggling in their loss to the Warriors on Wednesday, Tyson bounced back with his best game of the summer. He fell one assist shy of recording a triple-double and had more points, rebounds and assists than he has had in any other game during Summer League. The No. 20 pick in the draft has had a solid summer and could end up being a big part of Cleveland’s rotation this season. However, with the amount of talent already on the team, it is unlikely that he contributes much in fantasy in year one.

Tyson, the 20th overall pick in last month’s draft, shot the ball well for a second consecutive game in Las Vegas. After scoring 15 points on 7-of-14 shooting in his summer debut on Friday, the former Cal standout produced another 50% effort from the field. Another positive for the Cavaliers has been Tyson’s rebounding, as he’s up to 15 boards in two games. Even with the moves made before last season, Cleveland still needed to upgrade its wing rotation, and the hope is that Tyson will be the answer.

Tyson played for three different schools during his three years in college. He barely saw the floor at Texas, but he was far more effective at Texas Tech as a sophomore. However, he truly broke out at Cal, where he averaged 19.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.6 triples per game last season. He evolved from just a 3-and-D prospect by showing some shot creation for both himself and his teammates at Cal, though he’ll have to be more efficient with the ball (3.1 turnovers per game last year) if he wants to do that in the NBA. He’ll at least be able to provide some two-way value off the bench for Cleveland in year one, though he may not be asked to do much more. He could do more self creation in the future, but on a playoff team like the Cavs, he likely won’t have the ball in his hands enough to make a statistical impact as a rookie.