Former Lincoln Park star Meleek Thomas, Pittsburgh’s best basketball prospect in decades, is already exceeding expectations as an NBA rookie

For anybody who watched Meleek Thomas play at Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School in Beaver County, his meteoric rise to one of the top rookies in the NBA should come as no surprise.

“I hope not,” Thomas said with a laugh during a phone conversation Saturday.

Viewed by many as the best basketball prospect to come out of the WPIAL or City League in decades, the Pittsburgh native has done nothing to dispel those lofty expectations. With every step on his journey, from the Overtime Elite league to the SEC and now the NBA with the Cleveland Cavaliers, he continues to justify every bit of the praise heaped upon him.

Pittsburgh hasn’t exactly been a hotbed for NBA talent in recent years, but there are now four local products in the league: Indiana Pacers guard T.J. McConnell, Denver Nuggets forward Cameron Johnson, Los Angeles Lakers guard/forward Adou Thiero and, now, Thomas.

McConnell and Johnson have both carved out lengthy careers as key contributors to their teams, but it’s clear the 20-year-old Thomas has a ceiling that stretches far above any Western Pennsylvania native in recent memory.

“Everybody walks into my office and says they want to play in the NBA. But it’s another thing to get there,” said Lincoln Park coach Mike Bariski. “He’s the guy that beat all the odds because there are 544 guys now in the NBA. He’s one of them. And he thought he’d be one of them in ninth grade.”

For those who didn’t get to see him play up close, though, his rapid emergence may have been harder to forecast.

After Thomas tumbled out of the first round of this year’s NBA Draft, the Cavaliers selected him on day two with the No. 34 overall pick. Most draft analysts had tabbed him as a probable late first-round pick, but landing with the Cavs when he did turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

For starters, he gets to play close to home, allowing family and friends to see him play in person with just a 2½ hour drive. Plus, he gets to play for one of the league’s top title contenders, with the Cavs coming off a trip to last year’s Eastern Conference finals. Finally, he gets to soak up knowledge from two of the best perimeter players in the game in All-Star guards Donovan Mitchell and James Harden.

“Waiting until day two into that second round, in the moment, it’s obviously not the best feeling,” Thomas said. “You value where you’re supposed to land. In the moment, everybody doesn’t end up how it really needs to be. … I just accepted everything that came my way and didn’t feel any way about it because everything is meant for a reason.

“It’s very convenient that I’m right there next to my state and right next to where I grew up. Just a blessing.”

A gifted scorer, facilitator and defender who can create his own shot at will and set up his teammates in a pinch, Thomas has always been capable of stuffing the stat sheet. But above all else, one thing seems to follow him everywhere he goes — winning.

The 6-3 shooting guard gained national acclaim as a consensus five-star prospect in high school, helping Lincoln Park capture back-to-back WPIAL and PIAA Class 4A championships in 2023 and 2024. He tallied 1,750 career points over three years before leaving for the Overtime Elite circuit, where he averaged 31.9 points and 8.9 rebounds as a senior and became the first player from Pittsburgh selected as a McDonald’s All-American, an honor reserved for the top 24 players in the nation.

Thomas then went to Arkansas to play for legendary coach John Calipari. A native of Moon Township and a Hall of Famer with 905 career wins, Calipari is widely regarded as the best there is at developing players for the NBA.

“When he started, I said, ‘You’re going to Kentucky, and you’re going with Cal.’ I was not wavering,” Bariski said. “Cal and I are friends. And I said, ‘I will do everything I can for you to play for John Calipari.’ And when [Calipari] left for Arkansas, Cal still came to a bunch of games. I had everybody in the office looking for him.”

As a freshman, Thomas averaged 15.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists while shooting 41.6% from 3-point range, helping the Razorbacks reach the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament. He then declared for the draft, and although he was projected as a late first-round pick, many so-called experts and NBA talent evaluators seemed to overlook Thomas, who played second fiddle to his college teammate at Arkansas, No. 7 overall pick Darius Acuff Jr.

The Cavs could have selected Thomas at No. 29, but they traded the pick to the Sacramento Kings in exchange for the No. 34 pick and a 2032 second-round pick. Then, with the Cavs on the clock at No. 34, Thomas finally got the call.

“I know my value and know where I should have gone,” Thomas said. “I can’t really control the things that are out of my control or in the coaches’ control or whatever they have planned for me. If it’s not to play right away, it’s not to play right away. If it’s to wait a few games, then it’s to wait a few games.”

One thing Thomas had never done before is come off the bench, but such is the reality for most NBA rookies, especially after being drafted by a title contender.

After taking the NBA Summer League by storm — Thomas averaged a league-high 27.3 points against mostly first- and second-year players — he remained largely an afterthought in the Cavs’ big picture going into the regular season.

In their 114-106 loss in the season opener on Oct. 22, Thomas could do nothing but watch as Cleveland coughed up a 29-point lead to the Philadelphia 76ers. The Cavs won their next game two days later against the Brooklyn Nets, 125-121, but again, Thomas did not play.

Then, in the Cavs’ third game of the season against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Thomas got his chance.

Going against one of the top teams in the Western Conference featuring a pair of All-Star guards in Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball, Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson inserted Thomas into the game midway through the first quarter to make his official NBA debut. Rather than being fed to the Wolves, though, Thomas was thrust into the spotlight, delivering a 16-point performance off the bench in a 127-125 victory.

Following the game, Mitchell spoke glowingly of his teammate after presenting him with the game ball.

“It’s very rare to ride the coattails of a rookie going into the half,” Mitchell told reporters. “For him to be the spark in his first game of the year, that’s not normal. … I told him the best part about this game wasn’t even the 16 points. It was his energy. Credit to him for staying ready and continuously asking questions to make sure he’s in the right spot.

“I think we definitely got lucky with [drafting] him.”

Atkinson answered questions from reporters after Thomas’ stellar debut, seemingly second-guessing his own decision to keep him out of the rotation in the first two games.

“That’s a good question, why didn’t you play him in game one?” Atkinson said. “We need that kind of third ball handler. I think that’s part of it, to support [Mitchell] and [Harden] because teams are trying to wear those guys down. … The vets love him. They love him because he can play, but they love him because he listens.

“He’s rare. I think I said it in training — He’s going to be special.”

In his next two appearances, Thomas proved his debut was no fluke. He chipped in 10 points in a 121-111 win over the Washington Wizards, then scored 13 in a 136-111 triumph against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Those efforts earned Thomas enough trust that Atkinson rewarded him with his first career start in a three-guard lineup with Harden and Mitchell on Monday. And although the Cavs lost 117-112 to the Oklahoma City Thunder, Thomas tied for the team lead in scoring with 17 points.

“You don’t see an NBA player in the first, second or third quarter playing one-pass-away defense. Flashing to the corner. Sprinting down the court. Those guys don’t do that stuff,” Bariski said. “That’s the stuff Meleek Thomas does. All the things that every basketball player on every level should do. Meleek does everything extremely well.

“There’s always one guy who makes everybody say, ‘Why didn’t I take him?’ And he’s the guy this year.”

Only just beginning to scratch the surface of his potential, Thomas is inserting himself into conversations about the top rookies in the league. As a second-rounder, Thomas is the outlier in a group that also includes No. 1 overall pick AJ Dybantsa of the Washington Wizards, Cameron Boozer of the Memphis Grizzlies (No. 3 overall) and Acuff Jr. (No. 7).

With each game, Thomas is making the other 29 teams who passed on him regret their draft-day decisions and ponder what could have been — all while making his hometown proud.

“I had many role models that I looked up to when I was younger,” Thomas said. “To be a role model to my city and my state and then across the world as I started to branch out — that’s all I ever dreamed of. Just seeing all the kids and adults and elders and people in general just starting to praise my name and everything I do — there aren’t many feelings that will make you feel like that.

“Prayers do get answered, and if you stick to it, it’s going to bubble and keep happening. I’m watching it in real time right now.”