Lincoln Park’s Meleek Thomas Doesn’t Play as Cavaliers Open at Philadelphia

By Keystone Clutch Sports

In February 2024, Meleek Thomas was smothering Hampton’s top scorer for Lincoln Park in the WPIAL Class 4A final at Pitt’s Petersen Events Center. On Thursday, Oct. 22, the Beaver County product was on the Cleveland Cavaliers’ roster but did not play as the Cavaliers lost to the Philadelphia 76ers 114-106 to open their 2026-27 season in Philadelphia.

Thomas, 20, is listed at guard and wears No. 15 on the Cavaliers’ official roster. He was not on the NBA’s official injury report for the game, and the NBA.com box score lists him as “DNP – Coach’s Decision.” The team’s own season-opener preview had put him in a three-way competition for backup point guard minutes with Craig Porter Jr. and Tyrese Proctor. He is the newest name on a Western Pennsylvania NBA list that keeps growing.

The road from Midland

Thomas’ Arkansas bio lists his hometown as Pittsburgh and credits him with leading Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School in Midland to back-to-back PIAA Class 4A championships in 2023 and 2024. In the 2024 WPIAL Class 4A final, he had a game-high 21 points, 10 rebounds, 5 steals and 4 assists in a 66-51 win over Hampton, the Pittsburgh Union Progress reported. That was Lincoln Park’s second straight WPIAL title.

From there he went to Overtime Elite in Atlanta and then spent one season at Arkansas. He played in all 37 games for the Razorbacks with 21 starts, averaged 15.6 points, shot 41.6% from 3-point range and led the team with 57 steals, according to his school bio. He also made the SEC All-Freshman Team.

Cleveland took him in the second round of the 2026 NBA Draft, No. 34 overall, using a selection it acquired in a trade with Sacramento, TribLive reported. “All the hard work paid off. We’re here now,” Thomas said on ESPN’s draft broadcast, as quoted by TribLive. TribLive also noted that he is the third WPIAL product drafted into the NBA since 2019, after Cam Johnson (Our Lady of the Sacred Heart) and Adou Thiero (Quaker Valley). In July, Hoops Rumors reported that he had signed a four-year contract.

A loud summer, a late preseason flourish

Thomas led the Las Vegas Summer League in scoring at 27.3 points per game over four games and scored at least 20 in every one of them, News 5 Cleveland reported. NBA teams then voted him to the 2026 All-Summer League First Team.

In Cleveland’s preseason finale at Orlando, he scored a team-high 16 points, 14 of them in the fourth quarter, the Cavaliers’ preview noted. Hoops Wire added some context: Thomas went 6-of-9 from the field, but most of that production came after Cleveland had pulled its regulars in a 132-116 loss.

What comes next

Cleveland has established guards ahead of him, so Thomas’ minutes are not guaranteed. In July, Hoops Rumors projected that he would likely spend much of his rookie year developing in the G League. Still, the scoring résumé is real. He was a two-time state champion, a 41.6% 3-point shooter at Arkansas and the top scorer in Las Vegas, and the team’s own opening-night preview named him in the backup point guard conversation. Cleveland’s home opener is Saturday, Oct. 24, against Brooklyn (7:30 p.m. ET), per the NBA schedule.

The rest of Western PA’s opening week

T.J. McConnell (Chartiers Valley, Duquesne), Indiana Pacers: He was listed out with a right hamstring strain on the NBA’s official injury report for Indiana’s 123-120 opening win at New Orleans on Wednesday, Oct. 21.
Cam Johnson (Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Pitt), Denver Nuggets: He had 5 points on 2-of-3 shooting, including 1-of-1 from 3-point range, plus 2 rebounds and 1 assist in 11 minutes of Denver’s 96-84 season-opening loss at Oklahoma City on Thursday, Oct. 22, per the NBA.com box score.
Adou Thiero (Quaker Valley), Los Angeles Lakers: He was listed out with left knee effusion and swelling for the Lakers’ 127-105 win over Golden State on Wednesday, Oct. 21.
Oscar Tshiebwe (Kennedy Catholic), Houston Rockets: The former Hermitage standout had his contract converted to a two-way deal on Oct. 19, according to the NBA transactions log. He was inactive for Houston’s 128-110 opening win over Dallas on Wednesday, Oct. 21.
Pitt’s pair in Washington: Bub Carrington had 10 points and 4 assists, and Justin Champagnie had 8 points and 8 rebounds, in the Wizards’ 128-116 win over Milwaukee on Wednesday, Oct. 21, per the box score.

Thursday’s two games left Thomas still waiting for his NBA regular-season debut and put Johnson’s first line of the season in the box score. For Beaver County, the Lincoln Park kid’s first NBA minutes are the next thing to watch.

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