Ty Jerome scores first points as a member of the OKC Thunder

Ty Jerome has finally stepped onto the court in an Oklahoma City Thunder uniform. He made some noise over the first few minutes of his first appearance on Friday.

Jerome, called up from the G League in response to guard Hamidou Diallo being placed on the injured list with groin soreness, made his first Thunder basket, grabbed two rebounds, had a steal and dished four assists in 4:44 of play in the first quarter.

It was an impressive start for the second-year guard, who was sidelined at the start of the season after suffering a left ankle injury during training camp and then played nine games for the OKC Blue in the G League.

To score his first points of the season, Jerome got a pass from Kenrich Williams in the paint and flipped it in. He returned the favor with a nice cross-court pass on an inbounds pass for Williams to end the quarter with a buzzer-beater.

Diallo will miss at least two games and could miss all four left prior to the All-Star break. Head coach Mark Daigneault said that this gives the Thunder an opportunity to see Jerome for the first time.

“(Jerome) got hurt in training camp and was out for quite some time. (He) went down to bubble and kind of shook the rust off. He got better physically every game,” Daigneault said. “We want to explore the roster, we want to see what he looks like out there, we want to see style of play, how he fits the rest of the group.”

In his nine G League appearances — seven of which were starts — Jerome averaged 12.1 points, 3.2 assists and 2.2 rebounds over 24.2 minutes per game.

He made a difference early Friday as he helped the Thunder cut into a nine-point deficit in the first quarter, from which they eventually took the lead in the second.

Jerome finished the first half with four points, three rebounds and six assists. The Thunder led 63-55 at the break.

Daigneault said Jerome will be able to play the 1 and 2 as they evaluate him.

“Stylistically, between Hami and Theo (Maledon), Justin Jackson, Kenrich Williams, all of our guys have kind of been on and off (the ball). Shai’s kind of the constant one constant (on the ball),” Daigneault said. “But the rest of these guys are really versatile, and I’d throw him in that category. He’s a guy that can definitely initiate offense and get you organized, but he’s also a guy that can be really good off the ball because he shoots it well.”

Jerome got spot minutes with the Phoenix Suns as a rookie, averaging 3.3 points and 1.4 assists over 10 minutes per game in 31 appearances. He was acquired by the Thunder as part of the Chris Paul trade this offseason.

This post originally appeared on OKCThunderWire. Follow us on Facebook!