Five-star shooting guard Meleek Thomas has led the City Reapers to the second seed of Overtime Elite. He led his team all the way to the finals, but failed to lead his team to an OTE title, falling to Eli Ellis and YNG Dreamerz in Game 4 of the OTE finals on Saturday.
With Thomas now a senior, he is expected to leave Overtime Elite after just one season for Arkansas. Before that though, he penned an emotional post on Instagram:
Trending
"Can’t rush greatness," wrote Meleek Thomas. "Accomplishing goals I’ve always prayed for and achieving the unthinkable, it really go to show you anything is possible regardless the circumstance. My journey is bigger then me. I do it for my family, my city and the ones that look up to me.
"So I’ll keep being the blueprint til god say it’s my time to drop the ball. High school was always smackin😂😂 .I’ll never forget the memories and endless time in the gym. It’s time to go make history in the SEC❤️ #reaper4L #15219 #longlivemylovedones," he added.
This heartfelt message from the Arkansas-bound hooper caught the attention of No. 1-ranked 2025 prospect AJ Dybantsa, who is heading for BYU next season. The Utah Prep star was then answered by Thomas soon after.
"5L," commented AJ Dybantsa.
"@aj.dybantsa 🔒," replied Meleek Thomas.
YNG Dreamerz defeated Thomas and the City Reapers last Saturday, 93-90, with the Reapers only winning Game 2 of the best-of-five series.
How good was Meleek Thomas in OTE?
With Meleek Thomas now ending his career at Overtime Elite, this raises the question of how good he was with the City Reapers.
While he missed several games around the time he committed to Arkansas, Thomas had been the top scorer for the City Reapers, leading the team to OTE's second-best record of 14 wins and six losses. He is also the team's top scorer and one of its best rebounders.
For the regular season, he averaged 26.8 points, 8.9 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.1 steals per game. In the 2024-25 Pokemon Playoffs, he averaged 27.3 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.6 steals per game.
Thomas has been an offensive stalwart for the City Reapers and has also been known for being the team's double-double machine, often singlehandedly leading the team to victory.
In OTE, Thomas is paid via his NIL, which means he is still eligible to play in college, with the league also providing classes for the players.
