Ty Jerome was *still* the story on Monday night, even after the Memphis Grizzlies finally took their first loss of the year. The dude went absolutely supernova, putting up a ridiculous 40 points on 64% shooting against the Pelicans. We’re talking 5 of 6 from deep and 7 of 8 from the line. And get this: with the Grizzlies down 124-115 at the 1:43 mark, Jerome went on a personal 9-0 run to force overtime. Just bonkers.
Linsanity Mode: Activated
Less than two weeks into the season, it feels like Jerome is pulling off a Linsanity-esque run, plain and simple. He kicked things off with 45 points on the Jazz on opening night, and now he’s sitting as the league’s sixth-leading scorer, averaging a scorching 28.3 points per game. His shooting splits are eye-popping too: 50% from the field, 42% from three, and 88% from the charity stripe. People are definitely scratching their heads asking how this is even possible, especially considering he was a G League player just five years ago. But honestly, if you’ve been paying attention, this dude has been making consistent leaps, snagging every opportunity he gets.
The Rise of a Per-Minute Monster
It’s not like this kind of scoring explosion was a lock, but the signs were definitely there. Jerome has been a “per-minute monster” for a while now. He bounced around with the Suns, Thunder, and Warriors for his first four years, always playing well with the limited minutes he got, especially in OKC and Golden State. But it was with the Cavs in the 2024-25 season that he really broke out. He averaged 12.5 PPG on stellar 51/44 shooting splits and even finished third in Sixth Man of the Year voting. He wasn’t just a role player anymore, he became a legit go-to scorer in the playoffs. Remember that first-round sweep over the Heat? Jerome was averaging over 16 PPG, hitting 10 of 20 threes, and shooting 51% overall. In Game 1 of that series, he dropped 16 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter on 6-of-7 shooting. Look closer at that season: he was an All-Star-level scorer relative to his playing time, putting up 22.7 points per 36 minutes. That’s better than Jamal Murray, Tyrese Haliburton, and Jimmy Butler! The only reason he wasn’t a 20 PPG scorer was that he was only playing 19.9 minutes a night behind Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland.
A Steal of a Deal and What’s Next
The Grizzlies clearly saw something special there, because in the summer of 2025, they signed Jerome to a three-year, $28 million contract. Right now, that deal looks like the biggest non-rookie bargain in the entire league. He only played 15 games last season, missing three-plus months with a calf strain. But even then, he was still a per-minute beast. He put up 20 points in 20 minutes in his Grizzlies debut, and over the next six weeks, he averaged 0.87 points per minute, the same mark as Kawhi Leonard, making him fourth-best in the league among players who logged significant time. What’s next? If Jerome keeps this up, the Grizzlies got themselves an absolute steal, and the league better start paying serious attention to this dude. This is just the beginning of what could be a wild ride.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by CBS Sports.
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