Cavaliers Now

UVA Basketball: Ty Jerome Scores 20 Points for Unbeaten Cavaliers

Matt Newton

David Richard-Imagn Images
In this story:

The Cleveland Cavaliers are the last remaining unbeaten team in the NBA this season and contributing significantly to their 10-0 start has been former Virginia basketball star Ty Jerome, who is in the midst of a stellar start to his sixth season in the NBA. After missing most of last season with injury, Jerome is finally healthy and playing the best basketball of his career as Cleveland's backup point guard.

Jerome had his best game of the season on Friday night, scoring 20 points to help the Cavs take down the Golden State Warriors. He made seven of his eight field goal attempts, was a perfect 3/3 from three-point range and 3/3 from the free throw line, dished out three assists, collected one rebound, and was +13 in 21 minutes.

Watch Jerome's highlights from the Warriors game in the video below:

A couple of Jerome's three-pointers were from well beyond the arc, in what became known as "Tyland" in his days at Virginia, and he also displayed his tremendous feel for the game in getting to his spots in the paint for floaters and layups. Jerome seemed to delight in dominating his former team, as the Warriors were the last team he played for before signing with the Cavaliers in the summer of 2023. After playing just two games for the Cavs in the 2023-2024 season before suffering a season-ending injury, Jerome is back and better than ever.

Jerome has scored in double figures in six of Cleveland's 10 games and has scored 14 or more points four times, including in the season opener. So far, he is averaging 10.6 points, 3.1 assists, and 2.0 rebounds per game and is shooting 62.3% from the floor and 61.1% from three. Jerome is ranked sixth in the entire NBA with a Player Efficiency Rating (PER) of 27.83, trailing only Karl-Anthony Towns, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Anthony Davis, Nikola Jokic, and Dalano Banton. PER, according to ESPN's John Hollinger, who developed the stat, "sums up all a player's positive accomplishments, subtracts the negative accomplishments, and returns a per-minute rating of a player's performance."

Jerome is also ranked 11th in the entire NBA in true shooting percentage (.745), a stat that takes free throw shooting into account. Among the 10 players ranked ahead of Jerome in that category is fellow former Wahoo Jay Huff (sixth at .788), who is in the midst of a breakout season with the Memphis Grizzlies.

Jerome and the Cleveland Cavaliers will look to continue their strong start to the 2024-2025 NBA season when they host the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday at 7:30pm.

More Pro Hoos New & Content

UVA Basketball Alum Jay Huff Drops Career-High 20 Points in Grizzlies Win

Hoos in the NFL: Recapping NFL Week 9 for Former Virginia Football Players


Ryan Dunn Continues Hot Start to NBA Rookie Season | UVA Basketball

Former UVA Baseball Star Chris Taylor Wins World Series With LA Dodgers

UVA Basketball: Jay Huff Earns First Standard NBA Contract With Grizzlies

Published |Modified
Matt Newton
MATT NEWTON

Matt launched Virginia Cavaliers On SI in August of 2021 and has since served as the site's publisher and managing editor, covering all 23 NCAA Division I sports teams at the University of Virginia. He is from Downingtown, Pennsylvania and graduated from UVA in May of 2021.