Cavs rookie Jaylon Tyson says he’s going to be a ‘hell of a player’ in the NBA

Cleveland Cavaliers rookie Jaylon Tyson offered a confident message about his NBA future, stating that he just wants to “keep getting better.”

Tyson made his G League debut this week with the Cleveland Charge in a matchup against the Sioux Falls Skyforce, an assignment he was more than open to taking.

“I want to keep getting better,” Tyson told Cleveland.com. “I think I can be a hell of a player. I want to be. I’m going to be. I just feel like any reps I can get against NBA-quality talent, I’m willing to do that. I want to do it. The G League obviously is not the NBA, but it’s good work, it’s good competition. This is my job. It’s what they called me to do, and I wanted to do it.

“It was a lot of fun.”

The 2024 first-round pick had a solid game in his G League debut, playing over 38 minutes for the Charge. He finished with 25 points on 8-of-21 shooting from the field (3-for-10 shooting from 3), six rebounds, five assists and two steals.

It was certainly a promising showing from the Cavs youngster as he continues to work on developing his game.

At the NBA level, Tyson hasn’t gotten a chance to play much in the 2024-25 season due to the Cavs’ depth on their roster. So far this season, Tyson has appeared in 12 NBA games (making one start) and is averaging just 8.5 minutes per game.

He did make the most of his opportunity when Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson put him in the starting lineup, as he scored 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field while adding 11 rebounds, seven assists and two steals in a win over the New Orleans Pelicans.

While Tyson hasn’t gotten a start in a game since, he showed that he can be counted on if the Cavs need to go to him.

A three-year player in college, Tyson has a little more experience than some rookies entering the NBA, and it could help him develop into a consistent rotation piece for the Cavs sooner rather than later.

He averaged 19.6 points per game in college during the 2023-24 season while shooting 36.0 percent from beyond the arc.

Through 12 games in his rookie season with the Cavaliers, Tyson is averaging 2.5 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game while shooting 46.2 percent from the field and 30.0 percent from 3.

His next chance to play for the Cavs will come on Thursday when the team takes on Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets.