Ty Jerome Calls Isaiah Stewart an 'Unbelievable Pickup' for Grizzlies

Isaiah Stewart played 27:34 off the bench Monday night and finished with 14 points, five rebounds, and two blocks in the Memphis Grizzlies' 135-134 overtime loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. Memphis was plus-9 with him on the floor.

Ty Jerome counted Stewart among the veterans, along with himself and Jerami Grant, who will look in the mirror first after the loss.

"That's who he is, man," Jerome said. "He's our leader. He's a veteran presence. He's been playing his a-- off. That's who he is, man. He's an unbelievable pickup for us. When we signed him and we traded for him in the summer, I was super excited."

"And I think he's exceeded expectations on and off the court for us," Jerome continued. "So that's just who he is. That's who he's going to be all year. I hope to be on his team for a long time."

Stewart made 6-of-10 shots and 2-of-3 3-point attempts. Both 3s came in the first three quarters, the first a 25-footer off a Cam Spencer pass with 2:15 left in the opening quarter. Three of his five rebounds came on the offensive glass.

His 3-pointer with 2:28 left in the third quarter put Memphis ahead 95-94. In the fourth, he scored on a putback at 4:24 and a cutting layup at 3:00. He was plus-8 in 6:17 of fourth-quarter minutes.

In the second quarter, he blocked a Zion Williamson dunk attempt.

Stewart also picked up a technical foul at 4:23 of the third quarter, after an offensive foul, and committed five personal fouls.

When Zach Edey fouled out at 2:33 of overtime, Stewart replaced him. Williamson made two free throws on a Stewart shooting foul at 2:11 for a 131-129 Pelicans lead.

Grizzlies coach Tuomas Iisalo said some players logged very heavy minutes and that Tuesday's practice would have to be handled carefully.

"He played a lot of minutes today, and [it's] something we have to be also smart [about] moving forward," Iisalo said. "But just tremendous spark again tonight, hitting three-point shots from the outside, but also his defensive impact at the point of attack against Williamson or anchoring our defense when he was off him."

"And really, he's so mobile that he's able to cover also on the perimeter and still be in that help position," Iisalo continued. "So just really happy to have that guy on our side."

The Grizzlies acquired Stewart from the Detroit Pistons on June 24, during the second round of the 2026 NBA Draft, for three future second-round picks. ESPN's Shams Charania first reported the deal.

Stewart has two years and $30 million left on his contract, with a team option for 2027-28.

Detroit had been his only NBA team. He spent seven seasons with the Pistons and was the franchise's longest-tenured player when he was traded. He played 365 games for Detroit, averaging 8.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks.

Memphis had taken Cameron Boozer third overall the night before, and it also acquired the No. 21 pick, Karim López, from Detroit that week.

Jaylen Wells said Memphis should never have been down nine late in the fourth quarter.

"I think we'll respond well," Wells said. "We have really good leaders. Shout-outs to Stew. I think he's such a positive and motivating guy in the locker room. I think we'll respond well, just go back in the film, and we know we weren't gonna go 82-0, obviously, but this is one of those games that you don't wanna drop."

"I think the best part and the worst part is that a lot of the things that we could have cleaned up was things that we usually do," Wells continued. "And it's part of our identity. And it's things that we buy into. So it's a bad thing that it happened, but good thing going forward, just knowing that that's the standard we set."

Edey fouled out in 19:24 on Monday, and Quinten Post (right ankle sprain) and Scotty Pippen Jr. (low back soreness) were inactive.

At 6-1, the Grizzlies play two home games this week, at 7 p.m. CT Wednesday against the Indiana Pacers and Friday against the Oklahoma City Thunder.