The era for the Memphis Grizzlies that never was

It was not supposed to end like this. When the Memphis Grizzlies had back to back 50+ win seasons, they were expected to be next up. Built around a big three of Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane, Memphis was supposed to be one of the best teams in the league for years to come. Then, they collapsed. The Memphis Grizzlies had a moment until it all fell apart.

The 2018-19 Grizzlies were led by Mike Conley and Marc Gasol, they were in the last days of the ‘Grit and Grind’ era. They had just drafted Jaren Jackson Jr. with the 4th pick in the draft and were in a time of turning over the franchise. They got off to a 22-33 start and decided to break up the final pieces of the ‘Grit and Grind’ team when they traded Gasol to the Toronto Raptors for Jonas Valancuinas, Delon Wright, C.J. Miles and a 2024 2nd round pick. They finished the season with a record of 33-49 and traded Conley in the summer. Sending him to the Utah Jazz for Grayson Allen, Jae Crowder, Darius Bazley, Kyle Korver and a 2022 first round pick. The ‘Grit and Grind’ era was over in Memphis and they already had in place what came next.

The 2019 draft lottery saw the Memphis Grizzlies jump to number 2 where they drafted Ja Morant, a point guard from Murray State who was the ideal Conley replacement. He was one of the most electric college guards we had seen and many thought he was going to be a really good NBA player. They were right. The 2019-20 season was a very good one for the Grizzlies. They went 34-39, playing in the first ever Play-In Tournament (though that play-in was different from the one we have now) and Morant won Rookie of the Year. It showed signs that Memphis could turn into a real team quickly.

In the 2020 NBA Draft, the Grizzlies made a really good trade sending 2 future 2nd round picks to the Celtics in a three team trade that included the Trail Blazers. In return, Memphis got Mario Hezonja and Desmond Bane, Bane was the 30th pick that night. The prize of the deal was Bane, who we all know has turned into a great player and got traded for a lot more that 2 future 2nd round picks. That season was a massive success in Memphis. They finished 38-34, 9th in the Western Conference. They beat the Spurs in the first play-in game and headed to San Francisco to play the Warriors in a winner take all game. They beat the Warriors 117-112 in what was a really fun game that showed that the Grizzlies were building something. They did lose to the Jazz in 5 games but the groundwork was laid for the future.

The Grizzlies made a key trade in the 2021 offseason sending Valancuinas, the 17th pick and the 50th pick to the Pelicans for Steven Adams, the 10th pick, the 41st pick and future first round pick that did not convey. With the 10th pick the Grizz drafted Ziaire Williams while the Pelicans took Trey Murphy at 17. That hurts a lot. Adams was very good in Memphis before injuries caught up with him and they dealt him to the Rockets. His rebounding did a lot for them and they missed him a lot when they lost him. The Williams pick is a disaster, he spent 3 years in Memphis before being salary dumped to Brooklyn during the 2024 offseason. Trey Murphy could either have Memphis still be amongst the better teams in the west or they could be trading him for more picks right now. Missing on that pick hurt the Grizzlies a lot.

It did not affect the 2021-22 Grizzlies, who were the story of the NBA. They won 56 games with a net rating of +6.2 points. Ja Morant had an unbelievable season in which he averaged 27.4 points, 6.7 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game and won Most Improved Player. His teammate probably should have won that award. Desmond Bane averaged 18.2 points and 4.4 rebounds per game shooting 46% from the field and 44% from three. Jaren Jackson Jr. was also dominant on the defensive end, making All-Defensive first team. They were really good and looked like they were on their way to being really good for a really long time.

In round 1, Memphis faced off with the Timberwolves. They lost game one but bounced back with wins in games 2 and 3 with a huge comeback in game 3, winning the 4th quarter 37-12. Game 4 saw Minnesota take the game but the Grizzlies won game 5 and in game 6 they won behind a 40-22 4th quarter, advancing to round 2. Next up were the Golden State Warriors. A tough game 1 loss and a tough game 4 loss are what ended up defining that series for the Grizzlies. They lost in 6 games as Klay Thompson had a vintage moment, scoring 30 points and hitting 8 three pointers to close Memphis out. It was a disappointing ending but the arrow only pointed up for the Grizzlies, or so it seemed.

The 2023 Grizzlies came in needing to prove that what they had in 2022 was real. Another big Morant season and another leap from Bane helped but Jaren Jackson Jr. was the story. He averaged 18.6 points and 3.0 blocks per game as he won the Defensive Player of the Year. Memphis won 51 games and were the 2 seed in the Western Conference again.

Only, they had a few problems. First, Steven Adams and Brandon Clarke got hurt, leaving Memphis with Xaiver Tillman as their starting center. That was a problem. The 2nd problem, and what turned out to be a much bigger problem, was that Ja Morant could not stop bringing guns to places. The first time was in March 2023 when he brought a gun to a Denver night club and that led to an 8 game suspension. Not great but he would learn from it. However, it lingered as the Grizzlies entered the playoffs.

In those playoffs, Memphis faced off against the Los Angeles Lakers. That series went the same way as the Warriors series did. They lost game 1 at home and lost all 3 road games they played in. Even with wins in games 2 and 5, the season was lost. It was a very bitter end for a fun season that only got more bitter as time went on.

Dillon Brooks received a lot of the blame as to why the Grizzlies lost that series to the Lakers. He made comments about LeBron James being old, he got ejected from game 3 and when it was time to face the music after game 6, he didn’t talk to the media. That was enough for Memphis to let him walk in the offseason, with the Grizzlies telling Brooks they wouldn’t bring him back “under any circumstances.” Since that point, Brooks has played for 2 teams and both instantly got better once he got there and Memphis fell apart and are now entering a rebuild. It is clear who won that breakup.

After the Lakers series, Ja Morant flashed another gun on an Instagram Live. That led to real repercussions as the NBA suspended Morant for 25 games. It is really hard to have a good season when you are missing your best player for the first 25 games, so that already put Memphis behind the 8 ball. Then, the injuries started.

The 2023-24 Memphis Grizzlies season was defined by injuries, Steven Adams did not play a single game, Desmond Bane missed half the season and Ja Morant missed 73 games. After coming back from his suspension, Morant played well averaging 25.1 points and 8.1 assists per game but just 9 games into his return he tore his right labrum, missing the final 47 games of the season. Thus, Memphis was bad, going 27-55, missing the playoffs and getting the 9th pick in the draft.

In the draft, the Grizzlies drafted Zach Edey, a 7 foot 3 center out of Purdue. He was set to be their Steven Adams replacement. The 2024-25 Grizzlies got off to a really fast start with a 35-16 record on February 5th, which had them in 2nd in the Western Conference. It looked like 2024 was just a gap year and Memphis was back to rolling in the regular season. Then, their season flipped as they finished the year 13-19 and in what was a brutally tough Western Conference their 48-34 record was only good enough for 8th. They had to win the 8-9 play-in game to only get into the playoffs. They fired Taylor Jenkins, who had been with the team since 2019, with 9 games to go in the regular season and were swept by the Thunder in the first round. After what looked like a very promising start to the season, Memphis fell off and knew changes needed to be made.

This past summer they traded Desmond Bane to the Orlando Magic for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony, 4 first round picks and a 2029 pick swap. It reset a lot for Memphis as they were able to add future draft capital and still keep Morant and Jackson Jr. as the foundation of the team. This summer they gave Jaren Jackson Jr. a big extension as well, re-negotiating his salary to $35 million this season and signing him to a 4yr/$205 million deal off of that. Memphis knew that they needed some new pieces but they could still build around Morant and Triple J for the future.

Only, plans changed and a 19-29 start saw them ready to commit to a full rebuild. They sent Jackson Jr., along with John Konchar, Vince Williams Jr. and Jock Landale, to the Utah Jazz for Walter Clayton, Taylor Hendricks, Kyle Anderson, Georges Niang and 3 first round picks. It is a hard reset for Memphis. Ja Morant’s value has tanked so Memphis has held on to him. Not being healthy, not making any jump shots and being dreadful on defense will do that. However, that doesn’t change the fact that what once looked like a very promising future has faded away without even becoming an era.

The Memphis Grizzlies had a moment. They rose quickly from the fading ‘Grit and Grind’ era to the young up and coming team to fully bursting onto the scene. However, as fast as they rose, the fall was even faster. Just one playoff series win cannot be identified as an era, just a moment. Injuries, poor roster decisions and, well, guns, caused the window to close in Memphis faster than anyone could have imagined. The Memphis Grizzlies shined bright for a 2 season window and then the light turned off. It did not dim because that takes time, no, the light shut off very quickly. They had a moment that looked like it would become an era, only for the fall to never allow that era to fully develop. People will one day forget about the Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. Grizzlies, that doesn’t mean when they were together, it was not special.