Scheduled
Brooklyn Nets at Boston Celtics
2026-27 · Regular season
Meleek Thomas waits two games, then scores 16 in his NBA debut as Donovan Mitchell says it’s ‘very rare to ride the coattails of a rookie’
The Cavaliers rookie went 4-of-5 from three off the bench in a 127-125 overtime win over Minnesota. Donovan Mitchell said Thomas texts him film questions all the time, and Kenny Atkinson called his decision to play him 'a gut feel.'
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Meleek Thomas sat out the first two games of his rookie season. In his first NBA regular-season game on Monday night, he scored 16 points off the bench and gave the Cleveland Cavaliers the spark they needed in a 127-125 overtime win over the Minnesota Timberwolves at Rocket Arena.
“I would just say it was an amazing feeling, a blessing, a dream come true,” Thomas said. “I was just so happy to be out there. I knew my time was gonna come eventually, and I knew that when it did, I was gonna be ready.”
The 20-year-old guard from Pittsburgh, the 34th pick in the 2026 draft out of Arkansas, shot 6-of-10 from the field and 4-of-5 from three in 19 minutes. He also had a steal and two rebounds. He said he got no warning before he was called in.
Thomas’ 16-point debut, posted by the NBA on X.
Eight points in his first six minutes
Cleveland was down 16-9 when Thomas checked in for Peyton Watson with 5:53 left in the first quarter. He made a running layup off a Donovan Mitchell pass, then hit threes from 25 and 23 feet, and he had eight points before the quarter ended. In the second quarter he stole an Anthony Edwards pass, grabbed a defensive rebound and finished a running layup on the other end. Minnesota still led 60-50 at halftime.
He came back in the third quarter and hit two more threes in the last 2:24, one of them a 25-footer assisted by Mitchell. The game went to the fourth quarter tied 86-86, and Edwards’ 47 points were not enough to stop the Cavaliers in overtime.
“It’s very rare to ride the coattails of a rookie going into a half,” Mitchell said. “We didn’t have energy, we’re flat, we’re playing the wrong way, we weren’t doing the right things, and for him to be the spark in his first game of the year, it’s not normal. And that speaks to him, his preparation, his confidence, his concentration, attention to detail.”
Mitchell said Thomas made some mistakes but that “they were aggressive mistakes,” and that he told the rookie the best part of his night “wasn’t even the 16 points. It was just the energy.”
‘He texts me all the time’
Mitchell said what impressed him most was Thomas’ defense, and how much the rookie wants to learn. “Offensively he makes shots, like he’s a killer. That doesn’t surprise me,” Mitchell said. “But the fact that he’s trying and willing to learn. He texts me all the time saying, ‘All right, what about this clip? Why’d you rotate here? Why did I do this? Should I have done this?’ This morning he was working on shows. Rookies usually are working on how to get to the corner for a three. He’s working on trying to impact the ball defensively.”
After the win, Mitchell said the late shots from him and James Harden were only possible because of what came first. “We don’t get there, I don’t get to do what I do, James doesn’t get to do what he does, Ev doesn’t get to those big shots without Meleek Thomas giving the energy in the first half,” he said. In the locker room, he asked the team to give Thomas a round of applause.
Mitchell’s locker-room message about Thomas, posted by the NBA on X.
Atkinson: ‘It was just a gut feel’
Kenny Atkinson joked when he was asked why Thomas did not play in the first two games. “That’s very fair. You can write that,” he said. He said the first two games were partly about matchups, but after watching the Brooklyn game, “it was just a gut feel. I just felt like we need this guy in the lineup.” He said the Cavaliers needed a third ball handler to support Mitchell and Harden “because teams are just going to try to wear those guys down.”
Asked if Thomas had earned more minutes, Atkinson said, “Looks that way.” He added that one good game is not enough in this league, but said the team has been “bullish on him” since the day it drafted him, through Summer League, open gym and training camp. “The vets love him. They love him because he can play, but they love him because he listens. He’s inquisitive,” Atkinson said. “He’s rare. I think I said in training camp, I think he’s gonna be special.”
‘If I’m open, it’s going up’
Thomas said he dealt with sitting out the first two games by staying strong in his faith. “Whatever goes on, practices, games, just stay ready and your moment will come, because you can’t really keep a star in the closet for too long,” he said.
He was not shy about shooting next to Mitchell and Harden, either. “Confidence really don’t come from nobody else,” he said. “If I’m open, it’s going up, it’s going in. That’s always my mindset.” Asked if he expected a debut like this, he said: “A hundred percent. And I wasn’t even my best version. It’s a lot more that I haven’t shown.”
Cleveland, now 2-1, hosts Washington on Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET, which is 2 a.m. Thursday in Cairo, and then plays at Atlanta on Thursday.
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