Cal's Jaylon Tyson Picked 20th By Cleveland In NBA Draft

BERKELEY – California men’s basketball standout Jaylon Tyson was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the 20th overall pick in the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft on Wednesday night.

Tyson becomes the 11th Golden Bear to be picked in the first round of an NBA Draft. He’s the first Cal player to be drafted since Ivan Rabb (35th overall to Orlando, later traded to Memphis) and Jabari Bird (56th overall to Boston) both went in the second round of the 2017 NBA Draft, and he’s the program’s first player taken in the first round since Boston selected Jaylen Brown with the third overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft.

Tyson watched the draft privately in his hometown of Plano, Texas, surrounded by friends and family.

The 6-foot-7 forward was an All-Pac-12 First-Team selection and a finalist for the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award in his lone season with the Golden Bears in 2023-24. Tyson established himself as one of the nation’s most dynamic collegiate players, as he was one of just two major-conference players to average 19.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game or better. He registered shooting splits of .465/.360/.796 while racking up 17 20-point games and eight double-doubles, five of which were 20-point, 10-rebound performances.

Tyson arrived at Cal as one of the most sought-after players in the 2023 transfer class, and helped reinvigorate the Cal men’s basketball program during head coach Mark Madsen’s first year at the helm. After starting his collegiate career at Texas (2021-22) and playing one season at Texas Tech (2022-23), Tyson finished with career averages of 13.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game, along with a 47% clip from the floor and a 37.2% 3-point field-goal percentage.

Tyson is the fourth Cal player drafted by Cleveland, joining Kevin Johnson (first round, 1987), Jackie Ridgle (third round, 1971) and John Coughran (fifth round, 1973).

The 2024 NBA Draft continues Thursday with television coverage of the second round starting at 1 p.m. PT on ESPN.

California NBA Draft History – First-Round Picks (11)

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