Selected late in the second round by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2025 NBA Draft, Tyrese Proctor was afforded the chance to crack the group's rotation after four games at NBA Summer League. He put in extra work ahead of time with Craig Porter Jr. and Jaylon Tyson in the practice facility, and it paid off when the regular season came around.

There was a logjam at guard coming into training camp, so it was going to be hard for Proctor to play a significant part for the Cavs out of the gate. With Darius Garland, Lonzo Ball, and Craig Porter Jr. battling it out for backcourt minutes, in addition to Sam Merrill and Jaylon Tyson, he had to draw eyes, and that's what he did.

Proctor had Cleveland head coach Kenny Atkinson's trust for sporadic rotational minutes early in the year. He complimented the Duke standout for his self-creation ability and quick-twitch ball-handling. Defensively, Proctor held his own as well.

Never bashful to shoot, the first-year Aussie confidently fired attempts from long range when he got extended run. He touched double figures in scoring 10 times in his debut campaign and showed a willingness to do whatever the coaching staff asked of him when he was on the floor.

Donovan Mitchell and the veterans of the Wine and Gold spoke glowingly of what Proctor brought to the table in Year 1.

Proctor was not a member of Cleveland's playoff rotation, as the post-trade-deadline version of the squad changed the calculus.

REGULAR SEASON STATS

5.4 POINTS | 1.5 ASSISTS | 1.3 REBOUNDS | 41.3% FG | 35.1% 3PT | 88.9% FT

Cavs president of basketball operations Koby Altman has high expectations for Proctor and his development going forward.

The 22-year-old will work on his body for an upcoming sophomore season, where he could see even more chances to impact the team.

It'll start with summer league once again, where he'll form a formidable backcourt with 2026 second-round draft pick Meleek Thomas in Las Vegas. It should make for a fun watch in mid-July.

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