Meleek Thomas keeps making the kind of first impression that gets people talking.
On Sunday afternoon, the former Arkansas guard delivered the strongest NBA Summer League outing yet from a rookie Razorback this summer, piling up a game-high 30 points in the Cavaliers’ 103-94 loss to the Detroit Pistons. He added seven assists, four rebounds and four steals, giving Cleveland a full stat line in his second Summer League appearance.
Thomas went 10-for-24 from the floor and hit 4 of 10 from 3-point range. He also got to the line and finished 3-for-3 there, including a four-point play after knocking down a three while drawing a foul. That came after he opened his Summer League career with 20 points on Friday, 12 of them in the fourth quarter.
The performance came with Arkansas coach John Calipari watching from the broadcast and posting his reaction afterward. Calipari, who coached Thomas during his lone season in Fayetteville, didn’t hide how he felt about the way Thomas slid in the draft.
"He made all the right plays!," Calipari said of Thomas in a social media post after the game. "I am more convinced now that people are going to regret passing on him!"
How about Meleek today?? For me to get to sit with his family while he went for 30 and 7 was special.
He made all the right plays! I am more convinced now that people are going to regret passing on him!
pic.twitter.com/a2YxjHuz8u
Calipari also had a live moment on the Prime Video telecast while Thomas was cooking. As Thomas rose for a shot, Calipari said, "This kid right here, people missed on him, " and then added, "Don't make that!
Don't do that! They missed on him."
Former Kentucky guard John Wall echoed that sentiment on the broadcast, saying Thomas should have been a first-round pick.
Calipari wasn’t done there. He also said, "I'm still mad at Cleveland, because they traded [their] first-round pick," before adding, "What are you doing?"
After two Summer League games, Thomas has averaged 25 points, and the early returns have been loud. The sample is small, but he’s already shown the same offensive pop he flashed in a Razorback uniform, and nothing about the jump to the NBA has looked too big for him so far.
The Cavaliers will be back in action Wednesday against the New Orleans Pelicans at 4:30 p.m. ET on Prime Video.
Elsewhere, Darius Acuff Jr. and the Sacramento Kings are set to face the Washington Wizards on Sunday, while Trevon Brazile and the Denver Nuggets are scheduled to play the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday.
In Other News...
Arkansas Just Got A Brutal Reminder Of How Far It Has Fallen
Phil Steeles 2026 projections offered a blunt snapshot of where Arkansas football stands after a 2-10 season and a coaching change: last among SEC teams, a reminder that the climb back in this league is rarely quick. The numbers only sharpen the sense of how much ground the Razorbacks have lost, especially in a conference where the gap between middle tier and bottom can widen fast.
Ryan Silverfield has been handed the task of changing that trajectory, and athletic director Hunter Yurachek has already been working to show the program is ready to invest in the effort. Arkansas has to rebuild not just its roster, but also the perception that it has been slow to keep pace with the modern SEC, and the challenge gets no easier when the schedule waiting ahead is as demanding as any in the country. [Read more 🡒]
Pro Hogs Are Making Arkansas Fans Notice Something Bigger In Vegas
The NBA Summer League in Las Vegas has turned into an early showcase for Arkansas basketball, with 11 former Razorbacks taking the floor and giving fans a reason to keep one eye on the box scores. Meleek Thomas set the pace with a big outing for Cleveland, while Adou Thiero and Darius Acuff also turned in performances that helped make the weekend feel less like a collection of individual appearances and more like a reminder of how much Arkansas talent is spread across the league.
Acuffs debut in particular added to the buzz, and Thiero brought the kind of energy that tends to travel well in this setting. For Arkansas fans, the bigger takeaway is not just that the pro Hogs are showing up in Vegas, but that several of them are doing it in ways that suggest this summer could become a steady drumbeat of good news for the program. [Read more 🡒]
CJ Brown Is Becoming A Huge Part Of Arkansas' 2026 Answer
C.J. Brown has spent the spring making it harder for Arkansas to picture the offense without him in a central role next season. After a productive year that included 28 catches for 319 yards and three touchdowns, the receiver has shown why the Razorbacks view him as one of their most dependable options heading into 2026, and his ability to work both outside and in the slot only adds to the appeal.
Browns value has also grown because of the way he has connected with both KJ Jackson and AJ Hill as the quarterback competition continues. Ryan Silverfield has pointed to Browns work ethic and leadership as part of what separates him, and the next step is seeing how much of that spring momentum carries into a bigger offensive workload when the games start to count. [Read more 🡒]