CLEVELAND, Ohio — Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson wanted to be the one to tell him.
After receiving word that second-year standout Jaylon Tyson had been named to the Rising Stars team Monday night — news that broke while the players were on the court for pregame warmups — Atkinson pulled Tyson aside and let him know.
The celebration, momentarily paused by a matchup with the Orlando Magic, continued during a first-quarter stoppage, with the Cavs making an official in-arena announcement.
Tyson glanced up at the video board as fans cheered. Then there was an embrace with mentor Donovan Mitchell followed by the Cleveland bench encouraging the crowd to keep roaring.
“I had an idea I might be in it, but it’s a step closer to what my end goal is,” Tyson said following the Cavaliers’ 114-98 win over the Magic. “I do want to be an All-Star one day. I want to be a really good player.”
Rising Stars, which features a mini tournament with four teams and three games, will be played on Feb. 13 at Los Angeles’ Intuit Dome as part of NBA All-Star Weekend. It’s an annual exhibition of the league’s brightest players, spotlighting 21 NBA rookies and sophomores, plus seven others who have played in NBA G League games this season. Tyson was one of 11 sophomores chosen — a reward for his stunning second-year breakthrough that began this past summer with countless hours in the gym, behind closed doors, out of the spotlight, away from the cameras.
“He’s relentless with his habits and it’s translating to this guy that you’re treating like a 10-year veteran,” Atkinson said of Tyson. “It’s pretty amazing.”
In true Tyson style, considering his split personalities — the young, light-hearted jokester and brash, ruthless, trash-talking menace — he cracked back at the coaching staff in the locker room when they tried to create a special postgame moment that preempted Darius Garland’s planned birthday bash.
“I appreciate y’all for taking me off the bench,” Tyson said with a smile as teammates chuckled. “I love y’all. Let’s go win some more games.”
The No. 20 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, Tyson was an essential afterthought as a rookie.
He logged 453 total minutes. Scored 167 points. Spent time in the G League with the Charge just so he could get meaningful playing time and on-court reps.
It’s not what he expected. It’s not what he wanted. A temporary blow to his psyche.
But he used all those DNPs as motivation, coming into Year 2 hungrier and motivated to earn a permanent spot.
Max Strus, a starting lineup mainstay since his arrival in 2023, suffered a late-August foot fracture that required surgery and has kept Strus from making his season debut. He is still weeks away from a return.
Garland also underwent a summer operation — on his problematic toe.
For Tyson, two sidelined rotational players created the biggest opportunity of his young career.
He has maximized it.
Now 48 games into his sophomore campaign, Tyson has become one of the team’s most important and reliable players. He is the prototypical starter-quality 3-and-D wing the organization has coveted for years. He has earned the trust of his coaching staff and teammates. That rapid evolution is the franchise’s most important development, changing the seasonal outlook.
“It just got to a point where it was just like this isn’t a hot stretch,” Mitchell said. “It’s the little things he’s doing. Those are the things that you see that are like, OK, he’s taking that step. That’s a credit to his work and his willingness to learn and be coached by everybody.”
“He’s a great player,” Evan Mobley added. “He knows his role. He’s been playing his role and getting more and more minutes. All his work that he’s been putting in is paying off and it’s going to keep paying off. Really not a surprise.”
Tyson downplayed his role and deflected credit.
“I just get them the ball and then when I get the ball, shoot it or go set a screen and then play defense and rebound,” Tyson said. “Fun job. Fun job for sure.”
Tyson is averaging 13.7 points on 51.3% shooting and 46.2% from 3-point range to go with 5.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 27.8 minutes this season while bouncing between starter and reserve and typically guarding the opponent’s best offensive threat.
That scoring average is 10.1 points higher than last season (3.6 ppg in 2024-25) — the second-best scoring improvement in the NBA this season for any player with a minimum of 40 games this season and 10 games last season.
Among first- and second-year guys, Tyson is one of only nine players averaging at least 13.5 points and 5.0 rebounds, and the only one among that group shooting at least 45% from beyond the arc.
His 3-point percentage ranks third in the NBA, behind Atlanta sharpshooter Luke Kennard and Houston’s Tari Eason.
“He’s just a really good basketball player,” Atkinson said of Tyson. “I mean, the offensive stuff he’s doing is kind of coming out of nowhere.
“I’ll give our front office, Koby [Altman] and Mike [Gansey] and [Brandon] Weems credit because that’s a hell of a pick. I mean that. You have to see that. They saw that in college. I didn’t watch him in college, so it’s a hell of a pick. The kid is — got an incredible, incredible work ethic. He’s in that Donovan kind of level in terms of how he takes care of his body. And we’ve got leaders that support him. Coaches get way too much credit when a guy kind of takes off like he is.”
This is Tyson’s first accolade of what he hopes is many. He will need to wait on that All-Star nod. Probably for years. Mitchell is the only Cavalier in line for that honor.
But now a Rising Star, Tyson’s mind immediately goes elsewhere. He’s thinking bigger. Another award. This season.
Most Improved Player.
“I think I should be,” Tyson said, with encouragement from Mitchell to be boastful. “If we were winning more games right now, I would be in that conversation, right? I feel like respectfully and humbly, the numbers speak for itself. You see my leap from last year. You could technically look at this as my rookie year. I just feel like my ability to adapt to a lot of stuff, that’s what puts me in that category. They say second year players can’t get it, but why not? I think I should be in that conversation. We’re going to continue to win games and I’m going to keep being me, and we’ll see how it happens.”
