INDEPENDENCE — The Cleveland Cavaliers drafted University of California guard Jaylon Tyson with the 20th pick of the 2024 NBA draft .
Tyson spent the 2022-23 season at Texas Tech before transferring to California for his junior year, citing racial discrimination issues with the Red Raiders and former coach Mark Adams. At Cal, he exploded as a scorer and offensive player.
As teams try to challenge the Boston Celtics in the East, several — the Cavaliers included — have been looking to add wings to their roster. While Tyson is listed as a guard, he can offer the Cavs some versatility with their rotations, particularly with his skillset.
Tyson is the first draft pick in the Cavaliers' Kenny Atkinson era after he was hired as their new coach. According to an ESPN report Wednesday night , the Cavs and Atkinson have agreed to a five-year contract.
The 6-foot-6, 218-pound Tyson is a big, versatile guard who took on a larger scoring role last season and was viewed as one of the most improved players in college basketball. During Pac-12 play, he also displayed growth as a 3-point shooter, which the Cavs have been adding since last summer, in addition to having the ability to shoot off the dribble. He also displayed the ability to rebound as a guard.
With Cal, Tyson turned into one of the more dynamic offensive players in the country. He was one of only two major conference players to average at least 19.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists.
Tyson barely saw the floor as a freshman with Texas and then averaged 10.7 points with Texas Tech in 2022-23. After transferring to Cal, he led the Pac-12 last season with 19.6 points and 6.8 rebounds per game on 46.5% shooting. He also shot 36% from 3-point range.
Tyson was named first-team All-Pac-12 and was a top-10 finalist for the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award.
He was ranked as the No. 31 overall player on ESPN's draft board .
Jaylon Tyson stands 6-foot-6 and is listed at 218 pounds.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Cavs pick Jaylon Tyson in NBA draft. Expert analysis
