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It’s a nice time of year to root for the underdog.

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In today’s edition…

It makes no sense to the average fan.

This guy never played a single second of high school basketball. And he went to four colleges in four years.

So how does a street baller go from the playground to the NBA?

Let’s dive in 👇

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The typical path for many NBA players includes years of playing on AAU circuits starting at a young age, playing for an elite high school or prep program, and then making a one-year pit stop at a power-five college program.

Nae’Qwan Tomlin took a more unconventional path: one that included no high school team, four college stops, and going undrafted, all to earn a two-way contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Born in Brooklyn and raised in Harlem, New York, Tomlin, like most kids around him, fell in love with basketball after moving with his mother and two younger siblings at the age of 10.

But when he got to Urban Assembly High School, Tomlin didn’t take his studies as seriously as he should have.

“School wasn’t really my main focus. (I don’t really know what my main focus was),” he told Cavs.com.

When he finally decided to try out for the basketball team during his senior year, thanks in large part to a late growth spurt that pushed him to 6’7”, he found out his grades were not good enough to be eligible.

While he had to deal with the embarrassment of not being able to play ball alongside his peers, Tomlin figured out a different way to hoop.

Rather than sit at home, the lanky teenager took to the local playgrounds and parks, including Harlem Park and the famed Rucker Park.

“You wake up in the morning, you go outside, and you don’t come back until late at night. Your mom asks what you were out doing all day, and I’d just say: ‘I was at the park, just hoopin’.’”

On those outdoor courts, Tomlin learned the game, with older players becoming his coaches. 

Around that time, he met Steve Barnett, the former commissioner of the legendary Rucker Park Tournament.

Barnett took him under his wing, as he saw something special in the teen with a 7-foot wingspan and a motor that didn’t seem to have an off button.

While Tomlin’s game wasn’t as polished as others his age, he showed little fear when competing against older, tougher competition on a court where whistles didn’t exist.

"He's like my uncle,” Tomlin said. “And he really helped me along in my journey. I was working out with him every morning in Rucker Park.”

In early 2019, Barnett connected Tomlin with Torrell Harris, father of NBA forward Tobias Harris – a man who had helped redirect many local youth who had aspirations of doing better, both on and off the court.

As the chairman of his own sports management company, Unique Sports Management International, Harris not only knew what it took to create a successful career in the NBA, but perhaps more importantly, one away from the court.

Following their initial meeting, Harris arranged for Tomlin to attend Strength N Motion International, a San Antonio prep school run by one of his clients, Hall of Famer George “Iceman” Gervin.

1,800 miles away from the concrete jungle that was home, he learned fundamental basketball for the first time.

Returning to the New York area, Tomlin earned a look from Monroe Community College, playing for longtime coach Jerry Burns. In just 25 games for the Tribunes, he showed that he was ready and capable of playing at a much higher level.

At the start of the 2020-21 school season, Tomlin found himself leaving New York once again, this time for Chipola College in Florida. In two seasons with the Indians, Tomlin helped the team post a 53-11 record and the 2022 FCSAA (Florida College System Activities Association) championship.

The kid who failed to make the cut of his high school team was now a JUCO star, drawing the attention of D1 programs.

It didn’t take long for him to land his big chance. After transferring to Kansas State, Tomlin found a starting role with the Wildcats, averaging 10.4 points and 5.9 rebounds as the team advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.

Playing for first-year head coach Jerome Tang, his athleticism, mobility, and versatility started to shine.

Unfortunately for all that was good during his first season, Tomlin found himself caught up in the wrong place at the wrong time.

At the start of his second season with the Wildcats, he was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct after a 2 a.m. bar fight.

After being suspended and eventually dismissed by the team, Tomlin entered the transfer portal.

“Mentally, [it was] very depressing because my passion is playing basketball, and because I couldn’t, it was very hard on me.”

Within six days, he found a new home playing for the Memphis Tigers and former NBA star Penny Hardaway.

It was his fourth college in as many years.

Although he didn’t start as many games for the Tigers as he did for the Wildcats, Tomlin played a significant role, averaging the second most points, rebounds, and blocks (14/6/1.1). However, the team failed to advance to either the NCAA or NIT postseason tournaments.

While it wasn’t a successful year for the team, Tomlin had built himself up to become a legitimate NBA prospect.

"I don't think I saw the NBA as a possibility until my last year of JUCO,” he said. "The 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."

While he was far from a first-round selection, some had pegged him as a potential second-round pick.

With the 2024 NBA Draft being held in Brooklyn, it figured to be the perfect homecoming celebration.

But unfortunately, there was no early summer party for Tomlin. All 60 picks came and went without the New York native hearing his name called.

Yet all was not lost. The Cleveland Cavaliers offered an alternative path, adding him to their summer league roster.

“I definitely thought I was going to get drafted,” he said later.

“I had a lot of good workouts. I don’t want to go back and dwell on the past. I’ve 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’t get drafted, but I had to keep grinding.”

During the Cavaliers’ five-game summer league slate, Tomlin quickly found out that even the NBA Summer League was yet another level of talent.

While he did find ways to impress in limited minutes, it was not enough to earn a spot on the NBA roster. But it did warrant a position with the Cleveland Charge, the team’s G-League affiliate.

After receiving several DNPs (did not play) early in the G-League season, he finally earned some minutes. Proving his worth, both offensively and defensively, he received a phone call on NBA All-Star Weekend as he was sitting down to breakfast in Miami.

It was the call he and countless other G-Leaguers yearn for.

A ten-day contract with the Cavs, with his first game scheduled for February 20th, 2025, against the Brooklyn Nets.

Playing in front of his family and friends at the Barclays Center, Tomlin’s NBA debut consisted of 3 minutes and 7 seconds, 1 for 1 from the field, 1 for 2 from the line, finishing with 3 points, 1 rebound, and 1 foul.

That’s 3:07 of NBA action that Tomlin could only have dreamt about as a young kid on the blacktops of New York.

The following night, in a Cavaliers home game against the New York Knicks, he saw both his minutes and stat line double.

Not only did he figure into the box scores against both of his hometown teams, but the Cavaliers also walked away victorious, making the games that much sweeter.

He only saw action in three more games for the remainder of the schedule, but had a breakout game in a double overtime loss to the Indiana Pacers at the end of the season. It was his first NBA start, and he posted a 24 and 12 double-double. 

No longer was he just a kid from Rucker Park. He was officially an NBA-worthy player. 

Entering the 2026 NBA Playoffs, Tomlin, who was still riding his two-way contract up until February 5th, provided the team with energy and production off the bench.

"Not only is he getting converted, but he's playing real minutes, and he's helping us. He's been a revelation," Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman said.

Head coach Kenny Atkinson has been equally impressed with what he brings to the floor.

“His motor is elite. He gets these loose balls that other guys can't get because he's so darn long. I'm just so excited about him. He fits the prototype of the modern NBA wing. I love that he's firing up those open threes.”

Not resting on the fact that he made it, Tomlin put in the work to get better, staying in Cleveland during the offseason and picking the brains of teammates and coaches, constantly asking questions to improve his game.

At 25 years of age with only six years of organized basketball on his resume, Tomlin is still a work in progress. But the journey from Rucker Park to San Antonio to junior colleges to small-town Division I programs to the G-League, and now a guaranteed contract with the Cavaliers, one thing that Tomlin has learned is that nothing is given and everything is earned.

His story proves that the traditional path is not the only path. For every high school phenom who gets drafted in the lottery, there is a Nae’Qwan Tomlin who reminds us that there is always a different route to your goal.

“It’s a dream come true. Everything I’ve worked hard for has come to light,” he said.

“I’m just happy, happy to be in the moment.”

🐶

Today’s story was written by our friend in the Great White North, Steve Lee.

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Til next time,
Tyler

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