Meleek Thomas is proving every team that passed him wrong

Meleek Thomas hasn’t forgotten who passed him by.

The former Arkansas guard has spent his first NBA Summer League proving a point, and Monday night’s performance made that point loud and clear.

Thomas scored 35 to help Cleveland beat Miami 90-73, the Cavaliers’ first win of the event in Las Vegas.

“I’m forever going to feel some type of way about that,” Thomas said, addressing his draft slide. “I just know my value and I know my worth. I know the work I put in, and I demand that respect.”

Slow draft slide turned into fast production

Thomas went in the second round, and plenty of teams passed on him before Cleveland scooped him up.

Through three Summer League outings, he’s made that decision look like a steal. He’s averaging 28.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.3 steals a night, numbers that top every player in the event.

His shooting has been just as sharp. Thomas is hitting 50 percent from the field, 45.8 percent from three-point range on 11-of-24 shooting and a perfect 6 for 6 from the free-throw line.

Add it up and he’s scored 85 points across his first three games.

Monday’s outburst topped them all. Thomas connected on 14 of 23 shots, including 5 of 9 from deep, while adding three rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block.

The performance set a personal high and tied Cleveland’s Summer League record for points in a single game.

Thomas builds off strong start to Summer League

The scoring barrage didn’t come out of nowhere.

Two days earlier, Thomas dropped 30 points in front of family and former Arkansas coach John Calipari, even though the Cavs fell short in that game.

On Monday, he picked up where he left off. Thomas scored 11 points in his first seven minutes on the floor, then capped the first half with a tough buzzer-beating layup for 21 points at the break. Cleveland led 47-36 at halftime.

The third quarter belonged to Thomas too. He opened it with a floater less than a minute in and finished the frame with 12 of his 14 second-half points.

Thomas fell seven points shy of the Summer League’s all-time scoring record of 42, but he insisted afterward that winning outweighs any individual number.

Teams that counted him out may want to think twice before Cleveland’s next game, a matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. on Prime Video.

Key takeaways

• Thomas is turning his second-round draft slide into motivation, saying he “demands that respect.”
• His 35-point night tied Cleveland’s Summer League scoring record and pushed his three-game total to 85 points.
• Cleveland plays New Orleans next on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. on Prime Video.