Ty Jerome is making a strong case to become Cavs’ first Sixth Man of the Year

The NBA introduced the Sixth Man of the Year during the 1982-1983 season, honoring the 76ers’ Bobby Jones with the inaugural award.

Jones – a 2019 Hall of Fame inductee who epitomized the selfless, team-first mentality of a sixth man – was an obvious choice. However, no player from the Cleveland Cavaliers has ever been honored. (Former Cav Kevin Love finished second in the Sixth Man voting in 2021-2022.)

If Ty Jerome keeps dazzling off the Cavs’ bench, that could very well change this year.

Jerome has been solid from the get-go this season. On opening night in Toronto, the Virginia alum had 14 points (on 6-of-7 shooting), six assists and two steals in 18 minutes of action. The following game, he scored 13 points in 15 minutes against Detroit.

Over the past few games, Jerome has found a higher gear.

In a spot start against New Orleans on Nov. 20, Jerome went off for a career-high 29 points in just 23 minutes, going 7-for-12 from 3-point range. He followed that up with a 26-point, six-assist performance off the bench against Toronto.

After the game, Jerome’s teammates couldn’t wait to talk him up.

“He does offer a calming presence,” Georges Niang said of Jerome. “When that guy comes in the game and can shoot transition threes, get to the rim, stop runs by the other team, and then his underrated ability to have timely stops … for Kenny to have another weapon off the bench that can come in and do that … it’s been huge for us throughout the year.”

If you’re a Cavs fan, there’s no shame in admitting that you didn’t know what to expect from Jerome this season. I know I didn’t.

Before coming to Cleveland, Jerome had a grand total of seven career starts under his belt in four NBA seasons, during which he had bounced around from Phoenix to Oklahoma City to Golden State. Prior to this year, his most productive season was the 2020-2021 campaign with OKC, when he averaged 10.7 points and 3.6 assists in 33 games.

The Cavaliers signed Jerome to a two-year, $4.6 million contract in July 2023, snatching the restricted free agent from Golden State. He never got a chance to prove himself last year, hurting his ankle during the Cavs’ 2023-2024 home opener. The injury eventually required surgery.

This year has been a different story.

After the Cavs’ 122-108 win over Toronto – which improved their record to 17-1 – Jarrett Allen talked about the resilience that Jerome has displayed in battling back from a season-ending injury.

“To go through a whole year and not even touch the court three times, and then to be ready when the next season comes and play at a high level like he is – that’s tough to do,” Allen told reporters. “You have to lock in when you’re hurt; you have to see everybody succeed without you. But now he’s here and he hasn’t missed a beat.”

Allen described Jerome’s play with one word: “Incredible.”

“But during the summer he showed that he could do it. And now he’s [maintaining that same level of] hooping. Basically he’s doing everything: downtown shots, passing the ball, he’s doing it all. It’s incredible.”

Allen’s favorite thing about Jerome is “him as a person.”

“Good dude. Always about the right things. Always about making sure that his teammates are in a good space mentally. Just a good dude overall.”

As of Nov. 26, Jerome is averaging 12.6 points, 3.8 assists and 1.3 steals per game – all career highs – in 19 minutes of game action. He’s leading the NBA in 3-point percentage, shooting at a torrid 54.4% clip from beyond the arc.

Jerome also is leading the NBA in true shooting percentage, a measure of a player’s overall scoring efficiency that takes into account field goals, 3-point shots and free throws.

Jerome has been so good lately that Tristan Thompson called him “our version of Luka Dončić.”

Just bear with him, OK?

“He’s a big guard, he plays at his own pace – you cannot speed him up – and when he gets to the rim it’s either a bucket or he’s gonna find someone,” Thompson said after the Toronto game. “His offensive rating is off the charts.”

Niang added: “Ty, I love you, you’re not Luka, but you’re really freaking good.”