The Grizzlies' 45-point opener came from a $9.2M salary, in a role one game cannot confirm
Ty Jerome scored a career-high 45 points on Wednesday night as the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Utah Jazz 123-103 in the season opener for both teams, the New York Post reported. He made 17 of 25 shots, including 5 of 10 from 3-point range, and the 45 were the most by a Memphis player in a season opener, passing the 44 Ja Morant scored in 2020.
The Morant mark has a different weight this year. Memphis traded Morant to Portland in the offseason in the deal that brought back Jerami Grant, who scored 15 in the opener. Jaren Jackson Jr., traded to Utah at last February's deadline, was on the other bench and scored 15 before fouling out in the fourth.
The game turned in the third quarter. Memphis led 64-51 at the half, opened the third on an 18-4 run to reach 82-55 and led by as many as 27, and Utah trailed by at least 15 throughout the fourth.
For reading the role, the detail around the total matters more than the total. Jerome added 7 rebounds, 6 assists and a block in 32 minutes, and 14 of his 17 field goals were self-created, according to Dan Titus of Yahoo, who described him as the Grizzlies' primary scorer on the night.
The rest of the box score shows where the scoring did not come from. Cam Boozer, whom Memphis drafted out of Duke right after Utah took Darryn Peterson second overall, finished with 11 rebounds, 7 points and 5 assists on 2-of-15 shooting. Jaylen Wells and GG Jackson scored 12 each.
Jerome's $9.2M salary ranks 141st of the 304 rated players this season, and one game in, his production tops that list.
That rank was built from a single night: he played in his team's only game, logged 32 minutes, created most of his own baskets and accounted for 44% of the Grizzlies' production.
His WAGE Score stands at 78 one game into the season, Smart Money for now, and he was the 9th cheapest per unit of production among the 128 rated players whose production was above zero. Scores this early sit close to the middle and move quickly, so that figure describes a night rather than a season.
The longer record is less dramatic than the opener. Across his rated seasons since 2019-20, Jerome's career WAGE Score is 51, close to the going rate, and the 2024-25 season alone accounts for 52% of that career's movement.
I'd argue the honest reading is narrow. What Memphis's money bought on Wednesday was a lead scorer's night from a salary in the middle of the league's pay list. Whether the payroll actually carries a lead scorer at that price depends on what one game cannot show: whether he keeps creating that many of his own baskets, how the minutes settle around Grant and Boozer, and whether he stays available.
One game settles none of that. Titus noted that Jerome went after pick 100 in Yahoo fantasy drafts, and also cautioned that the value depends on him staying healthy.
Memphis plays the Golden State Warriors next, ABC News reported, the first chance to see whether the role holds for a second night.