As he marveled at Jaylon Tyson growing dramatically in almost every statistical category, Cleveland Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson sounded like a proud parent. Atkinson also sounded like a parent that harbored some regrets

“He’s kind of like a different player,” Atkinson said. “I’m now kicking myself, ‘Why didn’t we give him more opportunity last year?’”

That’s because the Cavaliers (31-21) enter Saturday’s game against the Sacramento Kings with the 23-year-old Tyson averaging career-highs in points (14.0), rebounds (5.5), assists (2.4), steals (.9) and blocks (.4) in 27.9 minutes per game. Most second-year NBA players improve on their rookie seasons, especially when it coincides with more playing time. But even when taking that into account, Tyson showed a significant jump from his rookie season after the Cavaliers selected him at No. 20 in the 2024 NBA Draft.

Then, Tyson averaged 3.6 points while shooting 43% from the field and 34.5% from 3-point range along with 2.0 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 0.3 steals and 0.1 blocks in 9.6 minutes per game. This season, Tyson ranks third in 3-point percentage (48.1%). Atkinson also conceded feeling pleasantly surprised with Tyson’s drastic improvement as both a perimeter defender and playmaker. No wonder Tyson will participate in the NBA’s “Rising Stars” event as part of NBA All-Star weekend on Friday at Intuit Dome.

Tyson’s growth coincides with the Cavaliers dealing with an injury-ravaged roster that has missed a combined 182 games amid various ailments. But even with the Cavaliers recently acquiring All-Star guard James Harden from the LA Clippers for Darius Garland and a second-round draft pick, Atkinson suggested that Tyson will still play a prominent role.

“Jaylon is going to do whatever you ask him,” Atkinson said. “But again, it’s nice having a wing creator like he is right now. I don’t see why that should go away with James in the fold.”

Tyson spoke to EssentiallySports about his recent growth, his hopes to become an All-Star and the Cavs’ recent trade. Tyson also spoke about Donovan Mitchell’s leadership and recently proclaiming that Cleveland is “Donovan Mitchell’s city now” after defeating the Los Angeles Lakers, headlined by LeBron James’ return.

Editor’s note: The following one-on-one conversation has been edited and condensed.

What explains your big jump in nearly every statistical category this season?

Tyson: “Obviously, the opportunity is a big part, but it’s also the confidence level of my teammates and within myself. I think all of that, combined with the work that I did this summer, I think that shapes up how the season has been going for me.”

What did that work look like?

Tyson: “Long days and lot of shots. I played a lot. I played a lot of 5-on-5, 1-on-1, 2-on-2 and 3-on-3. What my trainer and I did back at home was we would have some young college guys and young high school guys that are hungry, and have them guard me during the whole workout. So even when I was doing spot shots, I had them guard me. I think that helped out a lot.”

What were the highlights with those young players guarding you?

Tyson: “I think with my conditioning. When I came into training camp, I was super in shape. I could run for days. I was already in mid-season shape at the beginning of the year. Honestly, I would give them money if they would get a certain amount of stops. I tried to get them to make me better. I’m going to continue to do that. I played against some good pros. It was a good summer for me, for sure.”

Do you recall how much money you wound up giving them?

Tyson: “Maybe $100 or $200 a couple of times. Nothing crazy. They weren’t getting too many stops. I was making a lot of shots this summer. But when they did, it was good for me and good for them. They understand that I’m an NBA player and one of the best players. So they want that experience. It was a good relationship between both of us.”

What does the upcoming ‘Rising Star’ event mean to you?

Tyson: “This is the step in the direction that I want to go. Obviously, I have goals for myself. I have team goals. But I also have goals for myself. I want to be an All-Star one day. I want to play on Sunday one day. This is a step toward that. So I’m super blessed and honored to be able to represent the Cavaliers there and hopefully to many more.”

You have ‘Rising Stars,’ but what else is on the itinerary during All-Star weekend?

Tyson: “I’ll go home and see family. Just chill and reset. I want to come back and finish the season strong like we wanted.”

On your want to be an All-Star, you’ve shown growth in everything. But what do you see in your game that gives you the confidence that you can get to that level?

Tyson: “I feel like my versatility. There are not a lot of dudes in the NBA that can do what I do. In the humblest way, there are not a lot of things that I have that I need to grow. I’ll keep growing. I can adapt to any situation. That’s something that even when I was in the Draft, I feel like that separated me from everybody else.”

What will it take to reach that goal?

Tyson: “I just feel like the confidence from within myself and my willingness to work on the things that I need to work on. If I find holes in my game, I try to fill those holes. Not a lot of people are willing to put in that extra work to be able to fill that. I’m willing to do that. Anytime anybody has ever said that I can’t do something, I have a chip on my shoulder and try to prove them wrong. That’s not going to change just because I got to the NBA.”

In what ways has having a chip shaped you during your journey?

Tyson: “My journey wasn’t peaches and cream. I went to three schools [Texas, Texas Tech, Cal]. When I was in high school, I got cut. Nobody gave me a handout. I didn’t have any handouts. I worked my way to get to where I’m at now. I looked back at my journey. I had a hell of a journey at this point and for many years to come. I’ve just been super grateful to be drafted into this organization with these players. God put me in a position where he thought I was going to be successful and he thought it was here. I’m grateful for it all.”

What have the past few days been like for you, leading into and after the trade?

Tyson: “Obviously, there are a lot of emotions involved. Lonzo [Ball], De’Andre [Hunter] and DG [Darius Garland], all three of those guys meant the world to me. They taught me little bits and pieces of the game that I couldn’t ask anybody else for. Specifically, DG taught me a lot since I got here. Then, when De’Andre got traded here, he was like a big brother to me. Then, Zo instilled another level of confidence within me. When I was on the court with him, he would tell me to be aggressive. I’m thankful for all three of those guys. I wish them the best with all three.”

What do you expect James can do for this group?

Tyson: “I think his resume speaks for itself. I’m super excited to share the court with him. He’s an all-time great. Hopefully we all have the same goal with winning the championship this year. I’m super excited to get it going.”

How do you adapt to whatever changes come with your role and the rotation?

Tyson: “Whatever Coach asks of me, that’s what is going to happen. I can adapt to any situation, and I’m willing to adapt to any situation. That’s the key part of it. We’ll see how it goes from there. But I’m super excited to share the court with these guys.”

With how well you know Donovan, how do you see him and James meshing together?

Tyson: “I think right now, you can kind of double-team and get the ball out of Don’s hands. But now you got James there. You can’t really double-team because James is another elite scorer and facilitator. Then it’s about putting the right pieces around them, too. Obviously, we also have Evan [Mobley] and JA [Jarrett Allen], so we got a really good squad around us to fill in the pieces and make our jobs a little bit easier.”

What is the key to making sure that everybody brings the best out of everybody?

Tyson: “The biggest key is for everybody buying into their role. We’ll see what that role and the rotation looks like when everybody gets healthy so we can put this together. But once we buy in, everybody is going to have to sacrifice a little bit until we get to the end goal that we want. But I think the guys that we have around here and the coaching staff that we have around here, we’re set up for success.”

You all have often talked about how selfless Donovan is. What do you see in how that will set the tone with James’ arrival?

Tyson: “You can see it on a night-to-night basis. I remember two games ago, he wasn’t on his game and he wasn’t on it. He was setting ball screens for me. You would never see a superstar ever do that. That just speaks well of him. He’s been the most selfless dude that I’ve ever been around. There are times where he needs to shoot the ball instead of getting assists because it’s his time. But I can say a million words about him. But he’s standing next to me [at his locker], so I’m not going to do it (smiles).”

Well, you said a lot the other day about Donovan when you said that Cleveland is his city now after the win over the Lakers. I’m aware you clarified your intentions, but how did you process all of that?

Tyson: “Obviously, I didn’t want to offend anybody. But for this man, I went through a brick wall for him. I said what I said. I was just trying to give him his flowers. He deserves every bit of it.”

Donovan’s also given you your flowers. He said you should win the ‘Most Improved Player’ award. How do you see that?

Tyson: “I don’t really look at it too much. Obviously, I’ve had a good jump. But my end goal is to win a championship this year and be a part of that rotation. That’s my thing: how can I help this team win at a high level? That’s what I’m trying to figure out every day.”

You all just made some moves. But what are the lessons from last year, both with the regular-season success and the early playoff exit?

Tyson: “I think the difference between last year and this year is that we had adversity earlier than we had. Last year, we were cruising. We were running through everybody. This year, we’ve had a lot of adversity and guys being in and out. We haven’t had this ‘season that we expected to have.’ But now we’re pushing through the adversity and trying to find our identity again. I think that’s going to help us become a better team. So when the playoffs come around, we have to understand what happened last year. We can’t let that happen again. We’ll see how it goes.”

What do you think is this team’s identity?

Tyson: “I think it’s defense. It’s about having a defensive identity – playing on a string and having your brother’s back and being ferocious. We got to be dogs. We have to be smart and intelligent. That’s what our identity is.”

Mark Medina is an NBA insider for EssentiallySports. Follow him on X, Blue Sky, Instagram, Facebook and Threads.