Tomlin enters his third NBA season looking to solidify his place in Cleveland's rotation after remaining on the fringes of the frontcourt during his first two campaigns.
The 6-foot-8 forward offers athleticism and defensive versatility but will face significant competition for minutes on a veteran Cavaliers roster. Unless Tomlin earns a more consistent role, he's unlikely to carry much fantasy relevance outside of deeper formats. Cleveland also included him on its 2026 Summer League roster.
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Cavaliers' Nae'Qwan Tomlin: Doesn't play Friday
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Tomlin (rest) didn't play in Friday's 100-91 Summer League win over the Bulls.
Tomlin sat out a third consecutive contest, missing Cleveland's Summer League finale. However, he should be good to go by the time training camp begins.
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Cavaliers' Nae'Qwan Tomlin: Resting Wednesday
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Tomlin (rest) won't play in Wednesday's Summer League game against the Pelicans, per Danny Cunningham of Sports Radio 92.3 The Fan Cleveland.
Tomlin is out for a second straight contest for maintenance reasons. His next chance to return arrives during Friday's matchup with the Bulls.
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Cavaliers' Nae'Qwan Tomlin: Won't play Monday
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Tomlin (rest) won't play in Monday's Las Vegas Summer League matchup with Miami, Danny Cunningham of Sports Radio 92.3 The Fan Cleveland reports.
The Cavs are on the second leg of a back-to-back set, so the 25-year-old veteran will get the night off. His next chance to play will come Wednesday against the Pelicans.
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Cavaliers' Nae'Qwan Tomlin: Swats four shots Sunday
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Tomlin finished with 17 points (7-10 FG, 1-3 3Pt, 1-2 FT), six rebounds, three assists, one steal and four blocks across 29 minutes in Sunday's 103-94 Summer League loss to Detroit.
After scoring 20 points in Friday's 99-93 Summer League loss to Indiana, Tomlin had another quality offensive performance Sunday. He also had four blocks, tying the rest of his Cavaliers teammates combined. Tomlin might not see much more action during Cleveland's remaining time in Las Vegas, especially since he is likely already locked into a reserve role with the Cavaliers ahead of the 2026-27 campaign.
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Cavaliers' Nae'Qwan Tomlin: Ties for game-high 20 points
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Tomlin finished with 20 points (8-14 FG, 2-4 3Pt, 1-1 FT), six rebounds, four assists, three steals and one block across 29 minutes in Friday's 99-93 Summer League loss to Indiana.
Tomlin tied Meleek Thomas with a game-high 20 points Friday, though it wasn't enough to lead the Cavaliers to victory. Tomlin appeared in 64 regular-season games for Cleveland during the 2025-26 campaign and averaged 16.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists across 24.7 minutes in three starts. Tomlin might not suit up for the entirety of Cleveland's Las Vegas stint. However, he may have already done enough to secure the his spot on the depth chart behind Evan Mobley, especially with Dean Wade now in Philadelphia.
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Cavaliers' Nae'Qwan Tomlin: Scores two points in loss
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Tomlin contributed two points (1-2 FG), one rebound and one assist over seven minutes during Monday's 130-93 loss to New York in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
The second-year forward picked up some garbage-time minutes in this season-ending loss. During the regular season, Tomlin appeared in 64 games with averages of 5.8 points and 2.9 rebounds in 15.7 minutes per contest while shooting 47.8 percent from the field.
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Cavaliers' Nae'Qwan Tomlin: Back to bench for Game 1
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Tomlin is not in Cleveland's starting lineup against Toronto for Game 1 on Saturday.
Tomlin made his third start of the 2025-26 campaign during this past Sunday's regular-season finale against the Wizards, when he played 36 minutes and finished with a career-high 26 points along with eight rebounds and five assists in a 130-117 win. Tomlin will return to a bench role for Game 1, though it's unclear how much playing time he'll see given that rotations tend to tighten up in the playoffs.
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Cavaliers' Nae'Qwan Tomlin: Left out of rotation
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Tomlin (coach's decision) went unused off the bench Tuesday in the Cavaliers' 113-109 win over the Pistons.
After appearing in each of the last six games and averaging 9.2 minutes per game, Tomlin was ousted from the rotation while head coach Kenny Atkinson went with Thomas Bryant as the team's top big man off the bench and made use of Jaylon Tyson and Keon Ellis as undersized options at power forward. The Cavaliers could have a need for an extra big man in the event Jarrett Allen (knee) -- who exited Tuesday's game early -- isn't available Sunday against the Celtics, but Tomlin could be passed over for a spot in the rotation if Dean Wade (ankle) is cleared to return from a three-game absence.
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Cavaliers' Nae'Qwan Tomlin: Good to go Friday
Rotowire
Tomlin (calf) is available for Friday's game against the Hornets.
Tomlin will shake off his probable tag due to left calf soreness and suit up in the second half of this back-to-back set. Over five February appearances, the 25-year-old forward has averaged 7.2 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.0 steals in 17.2 minutes per tilt.
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Cavaliers' Nae'Qwan Tomlin: Nursing left calf injury
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Tomlin has been ruled out for Thursday's game against the Nets due to left calf soreness.
Tomlin may have tweaked his left calf before or during the All-Star break. The injury will keep him sidelined Thursday, but depending on the severity of the injury, he could be available for the back end of the Cavaliers' back-to-back set Friday against the Hornets. Tomlin was averaging 17.2 minutes per game off the bench in his five appearances prior to the ASB, and those minutes will likely be absorbed by Jaylon Tyson, Larry Nance and Sam Merrill.
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Cavaliers' Nae'Qwan Tomlin: Landing standard contract
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The Cavaliers intend to convert Tomlin's contract to a standard deal ahead of Saturday's game against the Kings, Spencer Davies of ClutchPoints.com reports.
Tomlin had been riding a two-way contract with Cleveland, but now he's set to be a regular member of the Cavaliers the rest of the way. The second-year forward didn't end up making a single appearance for the G League's Cleveland Charge in 2025-26, instead averaging 6.6 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 17.2 minutes per contest through 41 NBA games this season. He should continue to stick in the rotation as long as Evan Mobley (calf) is out.
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Cavaliers' Nae'Qwan Tomlin: Fares well off bench
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Tomlin logged eight points (4-6 FG, 0-2 3Pt), four rebounds, three assists, one block and two steals over 29 minutes during Wednesday's 129-99 win over the Lakers.
With Evan Mobley (calf) out and De'Andre Hunter's name in the rumor mill quite a bit, Tomlin is a candidate to see an increased role after the trade deadline. Over his last seven games, he's seen 22.5 minutes per contest with 7.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.4 three-pointers.
Tomlin accumulated six points (2-5 FG, 0-1 3Pt, 2-2 FT), six rebounds, one block and one steal in 19 minutes during Friday's 113-108 victory over the Nuggets.
Tomlin chipped in on both ends of the floor, continuing to play a somewhat consistent role for the Cavaliers. While he is not even close to being a standard league asset, Tomlin has surprised people with his play. In 25 appearances, he has averaged 6.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.4 combined steals and blocks in 15.1 minutes per game.
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Cavaliers' Nae'Qwan Tomlin: Notches seven points
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Tomlin had seven points (3-3 FG, 1-1 3Pt) and three rebounds across 14 minutes during Sunday's 119-111 overtime loss to the Hornets.
With Evan Mobley (calf) set to miss multiple weeks, Tomlin is a candidate to see increased run during the short term. He has 18 appearances to his name this season, posting averages of 6.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, 0.8 steals and 0.7 blocks in 16.5 minutes per contest.
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Cavaliers' Nae'Qwan Tomlin: Not starting Saturday
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Tomlin won't start against the Warriors on Saturday.
With Darius Garland (toe) back in action, Tomlin will slide to the second unit against Golden State. Over his last five outings off the bench, the second-year forward has averaged 7.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 1.0 blocks across 21.6 minutes per game.
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Cavaliers' Nae'Qwan Tomlin: Starting Friday
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Tomlin is in the starting lineup for Friday's game versus the Spurs, Serena Winters of FanDuel Sports Network Ohio reports.
Joining Tomlin in the starting unit for Friday's game will be Donovan Mitchell, Jaylon Tyson, De'Andre Hunter and Evan Mobley. In Tomlin's previous start this season during a Nov. 19 loss to Houston, he finished with 10 points and two rebounds over 20 minutes.
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Cavaliers' Nae'Qwan Tomlin: Crazy defensive effort in win
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Tomlin registered six points (2-6 FG, 0-1 3Pt, 2-2 FT), six rebounds, one assist, four blocks and two steals in 27 minutes during Monday's 135-119 win over the Pacers.
Tomlin was a force defensively for Cleveland, recording a season-high four blocks and tying his season high in steals Monday. Tomlin has risen to the occasion and has become one of Cleveland's main second-unit contributors despite being on a two-way contract, averaging 7.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 0.9 steals and 1.0 blocks in his last 11 games.
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Cavaliers' Nae'Qwan Tomlin: Headed to bench
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Tomlin will return to the bench for Friday's game against the Pacers, Spencer Davies of SI.com reports.
Jaylon Tyson is back and starting, so Tomlin will shift to the second unit, and his minutes will dip. As a reserve this season, Tomlin owns averages of 6.2 points and 3.3 rebounds per game.
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Cavaliers' Nae'Qwan Tomlin: Making first start of season
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Tomlin is part of the starting lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rockets, Serena Winters of FanDuel Sports Network Ohio reports.
Tomlin has stepped into a larger role over the last four games due to the absences of Darius Garland (toe) and Jaylon Tyson (concussion). Now, with Sam Merrill (hand) out, Tomlin will join the first unit. The two-way forward is averaging 7.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 1.0 blocks across 17.6 minutes during his last four outings.
