MEMPHIS — A guard the Phoenix Suns once had on their bench is now one of the NBA’s top scorers, CBS Sports reported.
Memphis Grizzlies point guard Ty Jerome scored 40 points on 64% shooting Monday against the New Orleans Pelicans, making five of six 3-pointers and seven of eight free throws. With Memphis down 124-115 with 1:43 left, he scored nine straight points to force overtime. The Grizzlies still lost, their first defeat of the season.
Jerome scored 45 against Utah on opening night and is averaging 28.3 points per game, sixth in the league, on 50% shooting, 42% from 3-point range and 88% at the line, according to CBS Sports.
He spent time with the Suns, Thunder and Warriors in his first four seasons and played in the G League five years ago.
Jerome broke out in Cleveland in 2024-25, averaging 12.5 points off the bench and finishing third in Sixth Man of the Year voting. Memphis signed him to a three-year, $28 million contract in the summer of 2025, a deal CBS Sports called the league’s biggest non-rookie bargain.
A calf strain limited him to 15 games last season. This year he is playing about 30 minutes a night and scoring at one of the league’s highest per-minute rates.
CBS Sports cautioned that the pace probably won’t last, but said the breakout didn’t come out of nowhere.
Sources: CBS Sports. Thee Arizona Times uses AI-assisted reporting reviewed against the sources listed.
Photo: Airman 1st Class Kerelin Molina / Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.
