Tyrese Proctor dropped 35 in Summer League, sparking talk he’s the steal of the draft and a key piece for the Cavs’ 2026 plans.
Cavs' Tyrese Proctor Looks Like the Steal of the Draft After Summer League Explosion originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The Cleveland Cavaliers entered the 2025 NBA Draft with low expectations of getting a true game-changing return from their picks, as they had no first-round selections due to the trade that brought Donovan Mitchell to Cleveland. In a league where talent comes from the top 10 picks far more often than the second round, the highest hope was simply that the Cavs could land a solid role player.
When Tyrese Proctor was still on the board as Cleveland’s turn to pick arrived, however, that expectation was flipped on its head. With the 49th overall pick in the draft, the Cavs selected Proctor, a guard out of Duke—whose breakout performance in the Cavs’ Summer League game Wednesday has led many to call him the steal of the draft.
Proctor dropped 35 points and four assists—both team-highs—on the Sacramento Kings Wednesday evening, furthering his label as a steal. Just to be able to have that kind of performance is great to see from a young player, but the way Proctor did it shows even more promise than the box score would indicate.
Proctor scored 15 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter alone, emptying the clip to try to help Cleveland keep pace with the Kings. In the end, Proctor scored almost 75% of the Cavs' 21 fourth-quarter points, but Cleveland was unable to find a win.
What they did find, however, was that their decision to draft Proctor was a great one. Wednesday night demonstrated that Proctor has the mentality every coach wants to see in a young player, treating a Summer League game like it's the playoffs and grinding until the final buzzer.
The role Proctor will have with the Cavs in 2026 remains uncertain, but the front office has made it clear they have high hopes for the 21-year-old's future in Cleveland, having already signed him to a multi-year contract.
Related: What the Cavaliers' Trade for Lonzo Ball Means for Cleveland’s Playoff Hopes
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 16, 2025, where it first appeared.
Category: Basketball
