{"id":435276,"date":"2026-01-28T18:31:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T18:31:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/435276\/"},"modified":"2026-01-28T18:31:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T18:31:12","slug":"inside-naeqwan-tomlins-unique-path-to-the-cleveland-cavaliers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/435276\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside Nae’Qwan Tomlin’s unique path to the Cleveland Cavaliers"},"content":{"rendered":"

CLEVELAND \u2013 Six years ago, NBA agent Torrell Harris met with a teenage street ball phenom of Rucker Park fame to offer words of wisdom at Sylvia\u2019s Restaurant in Harlem. The father of Detroit Pistons forward Tobias Harris has had so many of these meetings with young basketball hopefuls that it has become tough to remember everyone. <\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t until Monday that Torrell Harris learned that the kid he met with while eating soul food was Nae\u2019Qwan Tomlin<\/a>, who is now playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers<\/a> after taking an \u201cunheard of and not normal\u201d path to the NBA.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had to call [Rucker Park\u2019s co-founder and commissioner] Steve Barnett up and ask, \u2018Is Nae\u2019Qwan in the NBA now?\u2019 He said, \u2018Yeah.\u2019 It\u2019s a blessing,\u201d Harris told Andscape in a phone interview on Monday. \u201cSteve said [Tomlin] was going to be an NBA guy back then and he did it. I was just looking out. I was just trying to put the kid on the right track.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was just a great kid. He listened. Just a humble kid. He just needed help and direction.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tomlin, 25, is certainly on the right track now as a two-way forward for the Cavaliers, 6 1\/2 years removed from never playing high school basketball and going undrafted by the NBA in 2024.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat a story,\u201d Cavaliers president Koby Altman said to Andscape. \u201cHe didn\u2019t play [structured] basketball until college.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tomlin is averaging 6.2 points and 3.1 assists in 36 games for the Cavaliers this season. Two-way players can play up to 50 NBA games before their team is forced to decide whether to offer a standard contract or waive them. Cleveland is expected to sign him to a standard contract, a source told Andscape.<\/p>\n

Tonight, Tomlin and the Cavaliers host LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers (7 p.m. ET, ESPN).<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes, I can\u2019t lie. I know it\u2019s a blessing,\u201d Tomlin told Andscape. \u201cIt\u2019s a dream come true. Everything I\u2019ve worked hard for has come to light. I\u2019m just happy, happy to be in the moment. Can\u2019t take it for granted.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Nae\u2019QwanNae\u2019Qwan Tomlin\u2019s story is a unique one. He never played high school basketball and went undrafted in the NBA draft.<\/p>\n

Cleveland Cavaliers<\/p>\n

Tomlin was born on Dec. 29, 2000, in Brooklyn, New York, and moved to Harlem with his mother when he was 10. He fell in love with basketball through his mother, who loved watching it on television, according to Kansas State Sports Extra. He attended Urban Assembly High School in New York City, but he didn\u2019t take his academics seriously. Poor grades kept him from making the boys\u2019 basketball team in his only attempt as a senior.<\/p>\n

Tomlin didn\u2019t learn that he was graduating from high school until the actual day of the graduation.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo I regret it? No. Everything happens for a reason,\u201d Tomlin said.<\/p>\n

Harris said Barnett believed Tomlin had NBA potential while watching him play in their prep league. The slender Tomlin was 6-foot-10, athletic and had a 7-foot wingspan. Harris said Barnett set up a meeting with himself, Tomlin and Tomlin\u2019s mother, Aisha Ismael, at Sylvia\u2019s Restaurant in Harlem in 2019.<\/p>\n

That meeting led to Tomlin\u2019s first life-changing move. Tomlin was sent to San Antonio by Harris to Strength N Motion International, a prep school run by Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer George Gervin. It was there that Tomlin not only learned fundamental basketball skills but matured while getting guidance from Gervin.<\/p>\n

For Tomlin, basketball was his only saving grace.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was really passionate about basketball, and I just wanted to take it seriously. I didn\u2019t have any plans after high school. So, why not see where basketball can take me?\u201d Tomlin said.<\/p>\n

Said Harris: \u201cThe kid could flat-out play. It was more about his grades and the guidance of his youth. It wasn\u2019t about his game. George talked to him a lot. It helped his maturity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Donovan Mitchell diary: ‘There’s room for me to grow as a player’ \u2013 AndscapeRead now<\/a><\/p>\n

Harris said he helped Tomlin join Monroe Community College men\u2019s basketball team in 2019 in Rochester, New York, to begin his first stint of organized basketball. It was a success as Tomlin averaged 13.3 points, 8.8 rebounds and 3.3 blocks per game during the 2019-2020 season. He followed with two successful seasons in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic at Chipola College in Marianna, Florida, from 2020-22, leading the team to a combined 53-11 record.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think I saw the NBA as a possibility until my last year of juco,\u201d Tomlin said.<\/p>\n

Tomlin was signed by Kansas State and averaged 10.4 points and 5.9 rebounds as a starter on a team that advanced to the Elite 8 in 2023. Cavaliers scout Anton Marchand said he first noticed Tomlin at Kansas State and started keeping tabs on him. Tomlin, however, was dismissed from Kansas State\u2019s program on Dec. 6, 2023, despite being granted a diversion weeks after being arrested for disorderly conduct.<\/p>\n

Tomlin transferred midseason to the University of Memphis to play for head coach Penny Hardaway. Tomlin debuted on Dec. 23, 2023, and averaged 14 points, six rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 21 games for the Tigers.<\/p>\n

Next stop: the 2024 NBA draft.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe last six games with Memphis I was hooping. I felt a lot of confidence. Penny was giving me a lot of confidence. That was the time I felt like I could definitely play in the league,\u201d Tomlin said. \u201c[Hardaway said], \u2018You got the tools.\u2019 I always had the high motor, [I was an] energy guy. When I was at Memphis, I was one of the go-to guys with skill and how hard I played.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Nae'Qwan Nae\u2019Qwan Tomlin is expected to sign a standard contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers after the Feb. 5 trade deadline.<\/p>\n

David Richard-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The Atlanta Hawks selected Zaccharie Risacher with the first overall pick in the 2024 NBA draft in Brooklyn. Harris, however, went undrafted in his hometown as all 60 selections passed without his name being called. The Cavaliers, however, added Tomlin to their summer league team and ultimately the G League Cleveland Charge during the 2024-25 season.<\/p>\n

While going undrafted was disappointing, Tomlin didn\u2019t allow it deter him from his NBA dream.<\/p>\n

\u201cI definitely thought I was going to get drafted,\u201d Tomlin said. \u201cI had a lot of good workouts. I don\u2019t want to go back and dwell on the past. I\u2019ve been grinding my whole life. I just felt like I had to continue grinding. Juco is a grind. I grinded at K-State, Memphis. Everything was a grind. I didn\u2019t get drafted, but I had to keep grinding.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tomlin began his G League career slowly and didn\u2019t play in some games. But once he was given an opportunity, he averaged 15.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 35 games during the 2024-25 season. He drew more attention after having 37 points, five made 3-pointers, 11 rebounds and four blocks in 41 minutes on Feb. 7, 2025, against the Westchester Knicks.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I first got to the G League, I wasn\u2019t playing,\u201d Tomlin said. \u201cI was getting DNPs [did not play], sitting on the bench. Then I was getting a couple minutes. And then my opportunity came and I made the most of my opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Said Altman: \u201cGive him credit. When we first got him with the Charge, he had so many things to work on. Over the course of the season, he kept getting better and better. Structure was good for him. \u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cNae\u2019Qwan has an elite skillset offensively. You can get on the floor if you have one elite skillset and everything else will develop.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cleveland Cavaliers ‘Core 4’ dreaming of an NBA title \u2013 AndscapeRead now<\/a><\/p>\n

During NBA All-Star Weekend 2025, Tomlin said he was in Miami on vacation with friends when he got a call from the Cavaliers at breakfast. He was given the news he had dreamed of as the Cavs told him to join the team in Brooklyn. He signed a 10-day contract on Feb. 20, 2025, and on that same day, Tomlin made his NBA debut in his hometown of Brooklyn, scoring three points in a 110-97 victory over the Brooklyn Nets in front of his mom, sister and other loved ones.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt felt amazing to get that call. I called my mom. My mom was excited. My friends were excited. It was just another opportunity,\u201d Tomlin said. \u201cAll my family and friends were there. When they were killing the Nets, I got an opportunity to get in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Altman said Tomlin stayed in Cleveland for much of last offseason improving his game. Still a work in progress, Tomlin has been an instrumental reserve forward this season with the Cavaliers with his energy, defense and athleticism, but still needs to improve his shooting. He has carved out a bigger role of late, averaging 19.3 minutes per game in January, including more than 20 minutes per game in four of the past five.<\/p>\n

Cavaliers star guard Donovan Mitchell truly enjoys playing with the inquisitive and growing Tomlin and respects his journey.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so dope to see what he has done for himself and for his people where he grew up,\u201d Mitchell told Andscape. \u201cEvery time he gets out there he gives effort and energy. I don\u2019t really care about the result. He\u2019s always going to go hard. I respect that. He is always working, always finding ways to get better. He always asks me at the end of the games, \u2018What do you see here? What did you see there? Why did you do this? Why did you do that?\u2019 He is trying to find ways to get better. For him to be only hooping for five years and to be [playing] for a playoff contender, a championship contender, and getting high minutes is a testament to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a belief we have as a team and a coaching staff in him. But we don\u2019t go there without him putting in the work himself. I love the dude. He is hilarious. Great heart. Great soul. But to see what he has done in his career in short time is unheard of and not normal. It\u2019s something I ultimately respect and love about him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"DonovanDonovan Mitchell (left) on teammate Nae\u2019Qwan Tomlin (right): \u201d I love the dude. He is hilarious. Great heart. Great soul.\u201d<\/p>\n

David Liam Kyle\/NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Tomlin is expected to be signed to a standard contract with the Cavaliers after the Feb. 5 trade deadline. From Rucker Park to his unique college basketball journey to the G League \u2014 to playing against James and the Lakers tonight \u2014 Tomlin still feels like his story is surreal.<\/p>\n

As amazing as his road to the NBA has been, Tomlin is thirsty for much more.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to continue to make the most of it,\u201d Tomlin said. \u201cI\u2019m still on a two-way. I\u2019m trying to make my way into getting multiple contracts. Not just standard \u2014 multiple contracts. Just doing everything I\u2019ve been doing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know it sounds clich\u00e9 to say that anything is possible. But never stop working. One bad mistake is a lesson learned. Everyone makes mistakes. I\u2019ve made mistakes. I\u2019ve learned from my mistakes. I\u2019m reaching to where I want to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marc J. Spears is the senior NBA writer for Andscape. He used to be able to dunk on you, but he hasn\u2019t been able to in years and his knees still hurt.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CLEVELAND \u2013 Six years ago, NBA agent Torrell Harris met with a teenage street ball phenom of Rucker…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":435277,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[355,99],"class_list":["post-435276","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/435276","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=435276"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/435276\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/435277"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=435276"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=435276"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=435276"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}