CLEVELAND — As the Cavaliers began training camp roughly seven months ago, Ty Jerome didn’t hold back — with the trash talk, with the swagger, with an extreme level of confidence.
Jerome had just missed nearly the entire 2023-24 season after needing ankle surgery, so his experience with the rest of the current roster was pretty limited. Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson has since admitted the expectation then was Jerome might not even be in the rotation to start the season.
But there he was, oozing self-assurance and letting everyone else in the gym know it — not in taunting way, but simply in a manner to show he was confident in the way he carried himself.
In a supportive way, the Cavs sort of just laughed. Here was this confident guard, who might be at the very end of the bench, bringing an elite level of swag to anyone who was near him. Except, they quickly saw he was able to walk the walk in addition to talking the talk.
“Slow down, buddy,” joked Darius Garland when asked what he thought of Jerome during those first few practices. “Nah, he was talking s*** and he was backing it up, so I mean, you can’t really say nothing to him. … This summer, he was bumping his gums a lot for sure, so I’m glad he’s doing it on this high level right now.”
Atkinson added, “They laughed at him, because first he was this kind of bit player and he was still doing the swag stuff and they’re kind of like, who is this? Who’s this guy this he is? Now it’s almost like become a running joke amongst the team in a good way.”
Ty Jerome leads Cavs with 16-point fourth quarter in Game 1 win over Heat
The swagger is the same, whether it’s on a practice court or in front of a sold-out crowd at Rocket Arena for Game 1 of a playoff series. Jerome backed up the trash talk several months ago, and he backed it up during the Cavs’ 121-100 win over the Miami Heat in Game 1 on Sunday, April 20.
It was Jerome’s playoff debut. And the fourth quarter belonged to him.
Jerome was exceptional in his first playoff experience, finishing with 28 points, five rebounds and three assists. In the fourth quarter, he was essentially on fire, pouring in 16 points on a nearly perfect 6-for-7 shooting from the floor.
At one point, everyone in the arena knew who was taking the next shot. It wasn’t Donovan Mitchell, who scored 30 points. It wasn’t Garland, who scored 27. It wasn’t Evan Mobley.
It was the cocky backup guard who has refused to back down from anyone. He received multiple standing ovations from the crowd during that fourth quarter, and even in a playoff game was hoisting heat-check 3s — and making them.
After the game, Mitchell and Jerome were brought to the podium together. When a reporter mentioned it was Jerome’s first playoff game, Mitchell looked at Jerome and said, “It’s your first time in the playoffs? Damn sure didn’t look like it.”
Ty Jerome a finalist for NBA Sixth Man of the Year
Although Jerome never ceases to bring the swagger to the court, he was much more reserved with the media. After an ovation-warranted performance in which he was the best player on the floor in the game’s biggest minutes, Jerome was asked to evaluate his own game. He just kind of shrugged his shoulders and said, “Solid. Yeah, solid. We can reevaluate after the series.”
Before this breakout season — Jerome is in the running for Sixth Man of the Year — he missed virtually an entire year. It gave him plenty of time to reflect as his career was nearing a crossroads.
“You get time to reflect on where you need to take the next step,” Jerome said. “Coming into this year, going into the offseason, your back’s kind of against the wall. You don’t play any games, I don’t really have a huge body of work in the NBA, and you kind of have one last shot in a way to make it right.”
Although it might come off as arrogant, to Jerome, it’s just a degree of aggression and confidence that he’s always had. It took until this year for it to flourish.
“I think at the end of the day, you’ve got to be who you are — within the team, obviously,” Jerome said. “Eventually when you know yourself very well and you have a way of getting along with your teammates also, your team starts to empower you to be your full self.
“When you’re being your full self is when you can kind of reach your full potential.”
That potential erupted in Game 1.
