Cleveland Cavaliers Exec Reacts to Drafting Meleek Thomas

It was still up in the air whether or not the Cleveland Cavaliers would make a selection on night two of the 2026 NBA Draft after the Wine and Gold opted to trade the No. 29 overall pick on night one.

The Cavaliers entered the second round with the No. 34 overall pick, and ended up making a selection: Arkansas guard Meleek Thomas. 

Shortly after the Cavaliers made their pick at No. 34, President of Basketball Operations Koby Altman spoke to the media and explained what went into the selection and what Cleveland is excited about with the addition of Thomas. 

“We were, like, excited that he was available in the 2nd round,” admitted Altman.

“Usually, a guy of that caliber of scorer, that level shot maker, his profile, you get a lot earlier [in the draft]. So the fact that we were able to move back and still select a player of his caliber and his shotmaking, one of the best shop makers in all college basketball, pretty excited about that.”

Altman continued that the front office didn’t want to overthink the pick or “talk ourselves out of this.” In terms of the players who were left on the board, Thomas had the most potential, so the Cavaliers went “all in.”

Thomas is definitely a first-round-level talent; it just so happens that the 2026 draft class is incredibly deep. The 19-year-old averaged 15.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.5 assists while shooting 43.5 percent from the floor during his freshman season.

Regarding what Altman sees in Thomas, the Cavaliers are really excited about his skill set and mindset as a player.   

“We're really excited about Meleek and his shot-making ability and his confidence level at 19 years old,” continued Altman. “Then just as competitiveness. He came in to work out for us. That's always meaningful to us. 
His tenacity. He was awesome when he came in.”

There is a lot of upside in Thomas’ game, and the Cavaliers are clearly elated that they were able to select him so far back in the draft. Now, it’s all about seeing how the piece fits and what the guard can bring to this team. 

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