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Meleek Thomas' Clutch Gene Showed in NBA Summer League Debut

Former Razorback caught fire in fourth quarter of Cavs' loss to Pacers
Samuel Stubbs|
Arkansas Razorbacks' Meleek Thomas against the Arizona Wildcats in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament in San Jose, Calif.
Arkansas Razorbacks' Meleek Thomas against the Arizona Wildcats in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament in San Jose, Calif. | Munir El-Khatib-allHOGS Images

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Arkansas Razorbacks

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The Cleveland Cavaliers didn't win their NBA Summer League matchup against the Indiana Pacers on Friday, but it wasn't for a lack of effort on the part of rookie Meleek Thomas.

The former Arkansas guard put up 20 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter, on 7-15 shooting from the floor in his NBA Summer League debut in a 99-93 Indiana win in Las Vegas.

Thomas had only eight points through the first 36 minutes of play but turned the wick up over the final 12, dragging a team that was down by 19 at the end of the third period back into the game.

Thomas threw down a dunk and made his two shots from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter, though it wasn't enough to lift Cleveland to victory in its first summer league game of 2026. The Cavaliers will play again on Sunday at 3 p.m. CT against the Detroit Pistons.

Thomas , who averaged 15.6 points per game in his lone season in a Razorback uniform, should be an exciting addition to a Cleveland roster led by Donovan Mitchell and James Harden.

Cleveland is also a contender in the fourth go-round of the Lebron James sweepstakes as James searches for a new team for the 2026-27 season.

Thomas' 7-15 mark from the floor is better than the 43.5 percent he shot from the floor in college. The explosive but oft-streaky guard scored 21, 19 and 17 points, respectively, during Arkansas' three NCAA Tournament games in 2026,

On the contrary, he scored only eight in Arkansas' SEC Tournament win over Oklahoma and seven in the SEC Championship Game against Vanderbilt.

Those two performances were sandwiched in between a 29-point outburst in Arkansas' semi-final victory over Ole Miss, a 93-90 overtime win in which every one of those points was needed.

While the Cavs weren't able to get the win, Thomas did show that he has the potential to put a team on his back at the professional level, something he did multiple times at Arkansas.

The aforementioned Ole Miss game might be the best example, but he did the same in Arkansas' thrilling 84-83 Nov. 18 win over Winthrop, which saw him drop a then-career-high 26 points on a night where most of his teammates sleptwalked through the game.

Between Darius Acuff's strong summer league start and Thomas' impressive debut, the former UA duo is off to a solid start in the NBA.

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Samuel Stubbs
SAMUEL STUBBS

Sam Stubbs is a student at the University of Arkansas pursuing a degree in journalism. He has worked at the UA’s student newspaper, the Arkansas Traveler, since October 2025, becoming the assistant sports editor in December 2025. When he's not writing about the Razorbacks, Sam can be found covering NASCAR for Yardbarker and is a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA), winning an award for race coverage from the association in February 2025. He's previously worked for Heavy, Field Level Media, Frontstretch and FanSided.

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