It’s easy to understand why the Memphis Grizzlies are getting brushed aside.
They’re coming off a season in which they actually had more players suit up than games they won, 31 to 25. The familiar franchise pillars of the last half-decade, Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr., are gone. And Memphis has never quite been treated like one of the league’s glamor teams anyway.
Still, there are a few reasons the Grizzlies may be more interesting than the public mood suggests.
Start with Zach Edey. When the center from Purdue logged at least 20 minutes last season, Memphis went 7-3.
Most of those minutes came without Morant, too. That small sample is the catch, of course, but the larger point is hard to miss: when Edey was on the floor, the Grizzlies were elite defensively.
His availability is the big swing factor here. You can’t promise health for a big man who has already dealt with foot and ankle issues, but if he can stay upright, Memphis has real upside.
Even 60 games from Edey could be enough to make the Grizzlies a sneaky play-in team in a West that looks thinner than usual.
Then there’s Ty Jerome, who finally gives Memphis something it was waiting on after his free-agent move from Cleveland and the injury that followed. Edey was lost for the season while Jerome was still trying to get on the floor, so the two never really overlapped in any meaningful way.
When Jerome did play, the wins didn’t come in bunches, but the scoring sure did. In limited minutes, he averaged nearly 20 points in about 23 minutes per game and shot close to elite efficiency, including 42 percent from three.
That’s not empty volume. That’s a guard who can actually create pressure while Memphis builds an interior base around Edey and first-round pick Cameron Boozer.
Jerome is also in a contract year, which only adds to the intrigue.
The broader picture in the West helps Memphis, too. The conference may finally be loosening after a quarter-century of regular-season dominance.
The Spurs and Thunder still look like the two heavyweight teams out there, and the Wolves, Rockets and Nuggets sit in the next tier as fringe contenders. But the deeper collection of strong teams has shifted East.
Superstars such as Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jaylen Brown stayed in the East when changing teams, while LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard moved there. That leaves the West with fewer obvious powers beyond the top group.
For Memphis, that matters. The Grizzlies should be better than the Kings and Pelicans, and they may have a case against the Clippers, Suns and Warriors as well, given the holes and age concerns across those rosters.
Portland and Utah have promise, but both remain unproven. In a conference like that, getting into the top 10 might not require much.
And top 10 is all Memphis needs to put itself back into the play-in conversation.
In Other News...
Grizzlies Fans Face A New Watching Decision For Next Season
Memphis fans who want to follow the Grizzlies at home will have a different setup to sort through next season, as the team is moving its local TV and streaming access into a new digital home. The arrangement keeps preseason and regular-season games available to local viewers, while DAZNs subscription options will give fans a few ways to watch depending on how much they want to pay and what features they want included.
One familiar part of the experience is staying put: Pete Pranica, Brevin Knight and Rob Fischer will remain on the broadcast call, giving the team continuity even as the viewing platform changes. For fans, the bigger question now is how the new access model will feel in practice once the games are underway, especially for those used to the old routine of flipping on a regional broadcast and settling in. [Read more 🡒]
Grizzlies Camp Could Turn Into A Real Rotation Squeeze
Training camp is about to tell the Grizzlies a lot about how their new-look roster fits together, and a few spots already feel spoken for. Cameron Boozer, Cedric Coward and Zach Edey appear to have firm footing, which leaves Memphis with a crowded group of players trying to earn whatever minutes are left at point guard and small forward.
Ty Jerome, Scotty Pippen Jr., Cam Spencer, Jaylen Wells, GG Jackson and Jerami Grant are all in the mix for those openings, and that kind of depth can be a blessing until it turns into a squeeze. Memphis has more playable bodies than obvious rotation lanes right now, so the real question may not be who can help, but who gets left without enough runway when the games start to matter. [Read more 🡒]
Grizzlies Just Reignited A Nashville Debate Memphis Fans Can't Ignore
The Grizzlies are heading back to Nashville for preseason work again next fall, keeping a familiar late-summer routine in place as the franchise continues to stretch its footprint across Tennessee. The team will hold its 2026 training camp at Belmont University, with the annual stay in Music City running from Sept. 29 to Oct. 2.
It will be the third straight year Memphis has used Nashville for its preseason camp, a detail that only adds fuel to an old conversation around the franchises state-wide reach. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has already voiced interest in seeing the Grizzlies play some games in Nashville and serve more broadly as Tennessees team, while also making clear that Memphis remains an important NBA market. [Read more 🡒]