OKC Thunder: 3 biggest surprise players from 2020-21 season

OKC Thunder player No. 3) Ty Jerome

When discussing why Kenrich Williams deserves to be viewed as one of the biggest surprise players from the OKC Thunder this past year, we mentioned the fact that he went from being an “afterthought” addition to a player the majority of the staff here at the site view as a player that carved out a long-term role within the rotation.

While one shouldn’t argue with this logic from my cohorts, I, myself, am under the impression that second-year guard, Ty Jerome, should be viewed as equally deserving of such a distinction, and I even said so in the roundtable that was linked to in slide No. 1.

Every team needs their fair share of role players and, in the modern-day NBA that’s driven by backcourt play and long-range shooting, the 23-year-old has shown the capability of being a quality backup at either the one or even at the two thanks to his solid 6-5 frame.

Just a few weeks ago, we posted a piece discussing why Jerome should be viewed as a long-term asset for Oklahoma City and cited his surprise rise from the ashes of mediocrity as why he was such a joyous surprise to watch this year:

"Selected 24th overall by the Phoenix Suns in the 2019 NBA Draft out of Virginia, the point guard had a rough go at things during his first season in the league, seeing time in and out of the G League and averaging just 3.3 points in under 11 minutes of action in 31 games with the varsity team. Coming to the OKC Thunder this past November, the 23-year-old spent the first two months of the season either at the back of the bench or logging minutes in the G League with the OKC Blue. Finally seeing on-court action with the team on February 26th, his debut saw a log-line of nine points, seven assists, five rebounds, and two steals on 57 percent shooting from the floor. From there on out, Jerome has become somewhat of a regular rotation piece for Mark Daigneault’s ball club off the bench and, in turn, has averaged 10.7 points, 3.6 assists, 2.8 rebounds, and just over half a steal per game on 45 percent shooting from the field and 42 percent shooting from deep (second-best on the team) in 23.9 minutes."

Still so young, Ty Jerome is already producing at an impressive rate (10.7 points, 3.6 assists, and 2.8 on 42 percent shooting from deep) and could be a solid developmental project for the OKC Thunder backcourt moving forward.