Ty Jeremy Jerome (born July 8, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Virginia Cavaliers, where in 2019 he was the starting point guard on their national championship team. Jerome was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2019 NBA draft but was traded to the Phoenix Suns.

Ty Jerome
Jerome with Virginia in 2019
No. 2 – Cleveland Cavaliers
PositionShooting guard / small forward
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1997-07-08) July 8, 1997 (age 27)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High schoolIona Prep
(New Rochelle, New York)
CollegeVirginia (2016–2019)
NBA draft2019: 1st round, 24th overall pick
Selected by the Philadelphia 76ers
Playing career2019–present
Career history
2019–2020Phoenix Suns
2019–2020Northern Arizona Suns
20202022Oklahoma City Thunder
2021Oklahoma City Blue
2022–2023Golden State Warriors
2023–presentCleveland Cavaliers
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Early years

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Jerome attended Iona Preparatory School in New Rochelle, New York and was a four-year varsity player. After his junior season at Iona Prep, he was named first-team All-Conference, All-Metropolitan, and All-State.[1] Jerome's senior season was cut short due to a hip injury.[2] On September 2, 2014, Jerome committed to playing college basketball at the University of Virginia.[3]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Ty Jerome
PG
New Rochelle, NY Iona Prep 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) September 2, 2014[3] 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:    ESPN grade: 87
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 51   Rivals: 53  247Sports: 44  ESPN: 43
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "Virginia 2016 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  • "2016 Virginia Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  • "2016 Player Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  • "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  • "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  • "Virginia 2016 Basketball Commitments". 247sports.com. Retrieved February 9, 2019.

College career

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During his freshman year at Virginia, Jerome was the backup point guard to London Perrantes. Coming off the bench, he averaged 4.3 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 1.5 assists.

Jerome took over as the Cavaliers' starting point guard his sophomore year. On December 30, 2017, he put up a career-high 31 points against Boston College. His play during the season earned him a spot on the All-ACC Third Team.

Prior to the 2018–2019 season, Jerome was selected to the pre-season all-ACC Second Team.[4] On February 4, 2019, Jerome was named as one of the ten finalists for the Bob Cousy Award, recognizing the nation's top college point guard. He was projected in most mock drafts as an early second-round pick in the 2019 NBA draft.[5] Jerome averaged 13.6 points per game and 5.5 assists per game, helping lead Virginia to another #1 seed in the 2019 NCAA tournament. Virginia would win the 2019 Championship game 85–77 behind Jerome's 16 points, 8 assists, and 6 rebounds.

At the conclusion of the season, Jerome announced his intention to forgo his final season of collegiate eligibility and declare for the 2019 NBA draft while hiring an agent.[6]

Professional career

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Phoenix Suns (2019–2020)

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On June 20, 2019, the Philadelphia 76ers selected Jerome with the 24th pick in the 2019 NBA draft. His rights were later traded to the Boston Celtics alongside Philadelphia's 33rd pick for the draft rights to Matisse Thybulle[7] before being traded to the Phoenix Suns alongside Aron Baynes for a future first round pick.[8] Coincidentally, both players the Suns traded for were recruited out of high school and played their college basketball for Tony Bennett: Baynes at Washington State and Jerome at Virginia. On July 6, the Suns announced that they had signed Jerome.[9] Before the start of the season, Jerome sprained his right ankle on October 21, leaving him out indefinitely.[10] On November 25, Jerome was assigned to the Northern Arizona Suns.[11] Jerome played the next day in a loss against the Iowa Wolves before being recalled by Phoenix on November 27.[12][13] Jerome was assigned to Northern Arizona again on November 29 for a game against the Sioux Falls Skyforce before being recalled to Phoenix a day later.[14][15][16]

Jerome made his NBA debut on December 2, 2019, in a 109–104 win over the Charlotte Hornets with four points, four assists, three rebounds, and three steals in 12 minutes of play.[17] On December 21, Jerome scored a season-high 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting in a 139–125 loss to the Houston Rockets.[18] Jerome was later assigned to the Northern Arizona Suns for a game on March 4 before returning to Phoenix a day later.

Oklahoma City Thunder (2020–2022)

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On November 16, 2020, Jerome was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder alongside Kelly Oubre Jr., Ricky Rubio, Jalen Lecque, and a 2022 first-round pick in exchange for Chris Paul and Abdel Nader.[19] He was assigned to the Thunder's G League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue, still recovering from a severe left ankle sprain suffered a year earlier.[20] He made his debut playing limited minutes for the Blue on February 11, 2021.[20] Jerome made his Thunder debut in a game against the Atlanta Hawks on February 26. He finished the game with nine points, five rebounds, and seven assists in 22 minutes played in a 118–109 win over the Atlanta Hawks. His seven assists also set a record for the most assists in a debut in Thunder franchise history.[21][22]

On March 8, 2022, Jerome underwent season-ending groin surgery.[23]

On September 30, 2022, Jerome was traded, along with Derrick Favors, Maurice Harkless, Théo Maledon and a future second-round pick, to the Houston Rockets in exchange for David Nwaba, Sterling Brown, Trey Burke, and Marquese Chriss.[24] The following day, he was waived.[25]

Golden State Warriors (2022–2023)

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Jerome was signed to the Golden State Warriors on October 4, 2022, for the rest of the preseason; then, he signed to a two-way contract to play along with the affiliate Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA G League.[26]

Cleveland Cavaliers (2023–present)

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On July 6, 2023, Jerome signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers.[27]

On November 20, 2024, Jerome scored 27 of his career-high 29 points in the first half of the Cavaliers' 128–100 win over the New Orleans Pelicans.[28]

Career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2019–20 Phoenix 31 0 10.6 .336 .280 .750 1.5 1.4 .5 .1 3.3
2020–21 Oklahoma City 33 1 23.9 .446 .423 .765 2.8 3.6 .6 .2 10.7
2021–22 Oklahoma City 48 4 16.7 .378 .290 .809 1.6 2.3 .6 .1 7.1
2022–23 Golden State 45 2 18.1 .488 .389 .927 1.7 3.0 .5 .1 6.9
2023–24 Cleveland 2 0 7.4 .500 .000 .5 1.5 .0 .0 2.0
Career 159 7 17.3 .421 .352 .826 1.8 2.6 .6 .1 7.0

College

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2016–17 Virginia 34 5 13.9 .473 .397 .778 1.6 1.5 .4 .1 4.3
2017–18 Virginia 34 34 30.8 .421 .379 .905 3.1 3.9 1.6 .0 10.6
2018–19 Virginia 37 37 33.9 .435 .399 .736 4.2 5.5 1.5 .0 13.6
Career 105 76 26.4 .435 .392 .788 3.0 3.7 1.2 .0 9.6

Personal life

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Jerome's parents are Mark Jerome and Melanie Walker. He is a biracial African American and has two brothers and two sisters. His paternal grandmother was active in the Civil Rights Movement with the Congress of Racial Quality, and her husband Fred was a photographer who covered the movement.[29]

Jerome majored in American Studies while at the University of Virginia.[1] His favorite player in the NBA growing up was Steve Nash.[30]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Virginia Cavaliers Bio". virginiasports.com. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  2. ^ Santos, Dylan (January 16, 2016). "Ty Jerome of Iona Prep, a Virginia signee, to miss rest of HS season because of pending hip surgery". nydailynews.com. New York Daily News. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  3. ^ a b "New York combo guard commits to Cavaliers". DailyProgress.com. September 2, 2014. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  4. ^ "DUKE TOPS ACC BASKETBALL PRESEASON MEDIA POLL". theACC.com. October 25, 2018. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  5. ^ Darney, Caroline (February 5, 2019). "Ty Jerome named a finalist for the Bob Cousy Award". streakingthelawn.com. Vox Media, Inc. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  6. ^ Mike Barber (April 15, 2019). "UVA basketball star Ty Jerome will leave school early for the NBA Draft". Richmond Times-Dispatch.
  7. ^ "In New Picks, Team Lands Prospects Who Check Key Boxes". NBA.com. June 21, 2019. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  8. ^ "Celtics Complete Trade With Phoenix Suns". NBA.com. July 6, 2019. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
  9. ^ "Suns Sign Johnson, Jerome, Lecque". NBA.com. July 6, 2019. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
  10. ^ "Injury update: Suns guard Ty Jerome". NBA.com. October 24, 2019. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  11. ^ "Phoenix Assigns Ty Jerome to Northern Arizona Suns". NBA.com. November 25, 2019. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  12. ^ "Northern Arizona Suns Can't Stop Iowa Wolves in Loss". NBA.com. November 26, 2019. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
  13. ^ "Phoenix Recalls Jerome and Lecque From NAZ Suns". NBA.com. November 27, 2019. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
  14. ^ "Phoenix Suns Assign Ty Jerome to NAZ Suns". NBA.com. November 28, 2019. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
  15. ^ "NAZ Suns Fall Again to Sioux Falls Skyforce". NBA.com. November 30, 2019. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
  16. ^ "Phoenix Suns Recall Ty Jerome From Northern Arizona". NBA.com. November 30, 2019. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
  17. ^ "Oubre's late 3s lift Suns past Hornets 109–104". NBA.com. December 2, 2019. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
  18. ^ https://nba.com/games/20191221/HOUPHX#/boxscore [dead link]
  19. ^ "Thunder Acquires Ty Jerome, Jalen Lecque, Kelly Oubre Jr., Ricky Rubio and 2022 First-Round Draft Pick". NBA.com. November 16, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  20. ^ a b "Ty Jerome Gets 8 Minutes in G League Game". CBS Sports, February 12, 2021. Accessed February 16, 2021
  21. ^ Mussatto, Joe (February 28, 2021). "'He's gonna mesh well': Ty Jerome's Thunder debut a few months in the making but worth the wait". The Oklahoman. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
  22. ^ "Game Recap: Thunder 118, Hawks 109". nba.com. February 26, 2021. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
  23. ^ "Oklahoma City Thunder Injury Update". NBA. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
  24. ^ Peery, Hannah (September 30, 2022). "Rockets Complete Trade with Oklahoma City". NBA.com. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  25. ^ Siegel, Brett. "Houston Rockets Officially Waive Ty Jerome". Fastbreak on FanNation. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
  26. ^ "Warriors Sign Ty Jerome to Contract". NBA.com. October 4, 2022. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
  27. ^ "Cavaliers Sign Georges Niang and Ty Jerome". NBA.com. July 6, 2023.
  28. ^ "Cavaliers 128-100 Pelicans (Nov 20, 2024) Game Recap". ESPN. November 20, 2024. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
  29. ^ Bembry, Jerry (April 8, 2019). "For Virginia's Ty Jerome, journey to the NCAA title game has been quite the ride". Andscape. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  30. ^ "Suns rookie Ty Jerome chose Steve Nash as his favorite NBA player". August 20, 2019. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
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