CLEVELAND, Ohio — Fearlessness isn’t something you put on like a jersey. Everyone encounters fear. Everyone walks through fire at some point. The difference is who comes out stronger, knowing exactly who they are, built to weather any storm placed in front of them.
The Cavs didn’t set out this season intending to test their depth this way. Injuries forced their hand. But in a year defined internally by mental toughness and competitive resolve, Cleveland learned something vital. The guys who don’t blink under pressure weren’t missing. They were waiting.
Wednesday was supposed to be about LeBron James. Possibly the final time Cleveland would see him in an opposing uniform, frozen in place as his eighth tribute video rolled, emotion written across his face. In his eyes lived the pull of a retirement not yet chosen and an ongoing battle with Father Time. James wiped away the tears, grounding himself in the present while the future pressed close.
Across from him stood Luka Dončić, a top-five player operating in his prime, bending defenses with his mind as much as his skill.
The stage was enormous. ESPN. National audience. Emotional gravity everywhere.
And yet, by the end of a 30-point Cavaliers win over the Los Angeles Lakers, the night belonged to two second-year players who refused to treat it like anything special.
Jaylon Tyson and Nae’Qwan Tomlin didn’t just survive the moment. They hijacked it.
“Every time the moment’s been big, every single time you can count on them,” Cavs star Donovan Mitchell said. “That’s not something that normally happens with young guys in this league, and that’s why they’re such a joy to be around and to play alongside. In big games, no matter what happens, great offensive night, bad, the energy and effort and the intensity is gonna be there, and that takes you a long way.
“To see [Tyson] and then obviously Nae’Qwan do what he did tonight, I’m not shocked anymore. This has become an expectation. And now, they’re kinda screwed ‘cause if it’s anything less, I’m on them. It’s one of those things where you love to see that, you love to play with guys like that. You want to go to war with guys like that, and I think that’s something that really is a testament to their character, but also the way they work.”
Tyson knew exactly who he was guarding. The player he grew up watching. The weight of that assignment doesn’t need explaining. Because it didn’t matter. He had a job to do. There was nothing or no one that would prevent him from doing what was necessary to help his team.
“I fear no man,” Tyson said during a mid-game interview on NBA on ESPN. “Obviously, he’s a great player, but that’s my challenge today, and I’m gonna take the challenge always.
“I was a Cavs fan growing up because of him,” Tyson added postgame. “...Everybody knows who that is, right? The greatest ever. But I look at it as another opportunity. Obviously, when I was given that matchup, it’s like all right. Like I said, I don’t fear nobody. I just go out there and just be who I am. And try to make his job as difficult as possible.”
Who he was on Wednesday is who he’s been all season. Relentless.
He slid his feet. He absorbed contact. He drew an offensive foul on James and screamed toward the banners James helped raise, celebrating like he had just swung the game himself. In a way, he had. Those plays announce presence. They tell the opponent, you’re not walking through this.
Tomlin’s message wasn’t far behind.
Picked up Dončić before half court. Turned ball pressure into disruption. Disruption into chaos. Chaos into points. Twice he poked the ball free. The second time ended with a breakaway two-handed tomahawk slam that detonated Rocket Arena.
“I think just trying to be a star in my role,” Tomlin said. “I feel like my role is an energy guy, somebody that’s gonna come out there, play defense, play hard, make winning plays. So I just feel like I’ve tried to be a star in that.”
What separates Tyson and Tomlin from the norm is a consistent motor, confidence and determination in high-stress moments forged by their unique struggles to reach the NBA. Traits that have gradually earned the coaching staff’s trust, leading to their deployment in those situations.
“I was kind of hesitant because he’s so young and he’s green and you put him on those guys and they’re so smart,” Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson admitted about his first thoughts about putting Tomlin on Doncic. “But now I think we all feel confident that he can guard without fouling. Remember Summer League? He had like nine fouls in like three minutes. That’s hard; sometimes that takes a long time [to develop]. So the fact that he’s learned to be so active and so disruptive without fouling, it makes me more comfortable putting him on those big-time players. And it wasn’t that way, you know, even 10 games ago. ... we’re gonna have a hell of a player on our hands.”
This isn’t about reliability during the grind of an 82-game season. This is about trust that leads to spurts in playoff games. Even if rotations tighten. Even if minutes become scarce. Even if Tomlin’s two-way contract status complicates the roster math.
If Atkinson needs energy, defensive edge or life, Tomlin won’t hesitate, and neither will his coach.
Tyson’s trajectory has become one of the most intriguing threads in the Cavaliers’ season, not just because of what it means for lineups or rotations, but because of what it reveals about fearlessness itself. It isn’t something you summon on demand or flip on when the lights get brighter. There is no switch to turn on. It either lives in you or it doesn’t — built long before the moment ever arrives.
For Tyson, that foundation was laid early.
“How I was raised,” he said, “my brothers all played football. If you watch anybody in my family play, they’re fearless. I’ve never been a player that’s scared of the moment. I think that’s what makes me different than a lot of people.”
The 23-year-old has put his name in the conversation to remain in the starting unit, even when the team returns to full strength. With uncertainty surrounding Max Strus’ form after offseason foot surgery that has kept him out all season, as well as questions about Dean Wade’s scoring reliability, Tyson has made a compelling case as the best fit alongside the Core Four in just his second season.
That’s the through line. Neither of them treats the moment like it’s bigger than him. And they relish every opportunity, no matter how big or small.
No fear of critique, no fear of mistakes, no fear of the hook.
“We’re blessed to have a coach like Kenny,” Tomlin said. “He lets us go out there whether we make mistakes or not. It’s not like one of those coaches who just pulls us like that. We learn from our mistakes, and he just has a lot of confidence in us to go out there and make the right plays.
“It gives you confidence. You’re not scared. You’re not scared to make a mistake because you think you’re about to get pulled out. You’re able to play a little free.”
Atkinson has wrestled with that balance all season. Lineups, combinations, adjustments. He’ll be the first to admit not every decision has landed perfectly.
But in the process, something meaningful emerged.
Two competitors who rise to any occasion. Two answers hiding in plain sight.
Fearlessness wasn’t added Wednesday night. It was revealed for everyone to see, confirming that this is who they are and who they’ll continue to be.