Former UVA star Ty Jerome erupts for career high in Memphis’ season opener

No former Virginia player has ever scored as many points as Ty Jerome did Wednesday night in the Memphis Grizzlies’ season opener. His 45 points surpassed the previous record of 44 points set by Trey Murphy in February.

It is also a new career high for Jerome, outdoing his 33-point performance on Jan. 24, 2025, when he was a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

It was quite the season debut from the 29-year-old who suffered an ankle injury that prematurely ended his season last spring. Jerome shot an efficient 17-of-25 from the floor, including 5-of-10 from three, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out six assists to just one turnover. His performance led the Grizzlies to a 123-103 victory over the Utah Jazz.

Jerome scored Memphis’ first two buckets of the game, draining a pair of mid-range floaters from the right elbow. A few minutes later he made a pair of threes in quick succession before dishing out his first two assists of the night and draining a trio of free throws to close out the first quarter.

He added another six points and two assists over the first four minutes of the second quarter, and the Grizzlies took a 64-51 lead into halftime. Jerome then drained a three-pointer one minute into the third quarter and another just seconds into the fourth quarter.

The highlight of the night, however, came a few minutes later when Jerome launched a 33-footer from the logo, drained it and waved goodbye to the Jazz, sending the FedEx Forum crowd into a frenzy.

He capped off his best-ever scoring night with a floater and a pair of free throws over the final minutes, helping close out the 20-point win for the Grizzlies and breaking Murphy’s record less than nine months after it was set.

Next up, Jerome will face one of his former teams when Memphis visits Golden State on Friday night.