Since their debut season in 1995-96, the Memphis Grizzlies have slowly crossed off a number of franchise milestones.
Their first winning season (50-32) came in the 2003-04 season, while they first topped 55 games nine years later.
And last year marked the team’s first division title as they finished second in the Western Conference during the regular season.
The Grizzlies have emerged as one of the most fun and exciting shows in the NBA
On Sunday vs. the Golden State Warriors, another landmark will be reached: the franchise’s first-ever Christmas game.
Playing on the holiday – on national television – is a privilege usually reserved for teams in at least one of two categories: the best teams or those who’ll draw the most eyeballs.
And yet, while a Ja Morant-led Memphis team emerged as both of those things last season, there was no room for them on the Christmas slate then with the schedules determined before the season.
‘I was not angry [at not getting a Christmas game last year] because I knew that it was going to come very soon. And this season felt like the right time,’ NBA Twitter personality and lifelong Grizzlies fan Molly Morrison said.
‘This is the first time that the world has really taken notice of Grizzlies basketball.’
As Morrison hinted at, winning games has not necessarily been the issue for this franchise.
Though they struggled mightily in the first eight years of their existence (six of which came in Vancouver), they found their feet in the franchise’s ‘Grit n’ Grind’ era of the 2010s, making seven straight trips to the playoffs and reaching the Western Conference Finals in 2013.
The problem? They weren’t exactly what national audiences wanted to watch.
The Grit n’ Grind Memphis squads were mediocre on offense and consistently one of the league’s slowest teams on that end, finishing last in pace between 2012-14. Their success was built on the suffocating defense of Zach Randolph, Tony Allen, Marc Gasol and Mike Conley.
Memphis achieved success behind the stingy defense of Tony Allen (left), Mike Conley, Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph
And while that netted them three 50-win seasons and moderate postseason success, the team lacked the true superstar or elite resume that typically leads to a Christmas selection.
That began to change a few years ago when Morant debuted in the 2019-20 season.
In the Murray State product – who would win Rookie of the Year – Memphis didn’t just have someone who projected to be a very good player. They had someone able to draw attention to a degree previous Grizzlies could not.
His slender frame, tight handles and electrifying finishing drew comparisons to Allen Iverson. But the Memphis front office has nailed the rest of this roster as well.
Drafted at No. 4 a year prior to Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr. has become one of the league’s best two-way big men while Desmond Bane (traded for on draft night in 2020) is one of the NBA’s premier deep threats.
Brandon Clarke and Dillon Brooks also carry some of the scoring load, while the bruising Steven Adams brings a taste of the Grit n’ Grind era in the paint.
Ja Morant has brought the team to new heights with his eye-catching ability in the backcourt
An impressive core has emerged around Morant, but it’s the MVP-candidate that has brought the franchise into new territory.
‘The depth is the reason that they are so successful. But Ja Morant is the reason that they have become a team that is talked about on national platforms very frequently,’ Morrison said.
‘Because they have that superstar. It’s not maybe why they should be, but it’s what it took to get the Grizzlies to that level of being respected.’
A roster with an improving Morant and other talented young players was supposed to be competitive last season.
For long stretches of the regular season, though, they were downright dominant.
Powered by their precocious core, the 56-26 Grizzlies finished second in the league in points per game and third in pace to form arguably the most entertaining show in the league to neutrals – a complete transformation from the Grit n’ Grind days.
Jaren Jackson Jr. (left), Desmond Bane and Steven Adams excel as starters alongside Morant
And while Memphis entered this season with more of a target on their back than last year’s out-of-nowhere squad, that improvement has carried over into this season.
The Grizzlies enter Sunday’s game vs. a banged-up Warriors squad with a 20-11 record and sit second in the West standings.
To fully appreciate the team’s present, though, it’s worth looking back at their past.
Though the Grit n’ Grind teams failed to win a ring, they made an indelible impact on the local fanbase.
Related Post
Memphis went from a basketball afterthought to having its entirely own brand of playing, and their four postseason series wins in that era marked unprecedented success for the franchise.
Randolph’s jersey was retired last year.
‘Memphis has never been a city that really gets things like that, gets professional sports teams,’ Morrison said.
‘So having these guys come in and just really be excited to play there and immerse themselves in the culture and just get everyone excited – it was really special.’
Zach Randolph holds up a plaque as his jersey is retired last year by the Grizzlies
Still, that prestigious Christmas game eluded them.
‘You would follow this incredible run in the playoffs and the national TV schedule would come out [before the season]… I don’t even think Christmas Day felt like this huge snub because they didn’t wanna even put them on national TV to begin with,’ Morrison said.
‘Even throughout the height of their run, they didn’t have that respect that they deserved.’
In August, the NBA announced the schedule for this season.
The Grizzlies were awarded a franchise-record 18 nationally televised games.
The next one, vs. Golden State, is of course just one in a long slog of a regular season contests.
It should be a win with Stephen Curry out, and even if not, it will hardly damage Memphis’ postseason hopes.
Nonetheless, Grizzlies fans like Morrison will relish this one. After 27 seasons mostly spent on the fringes, Memphis has their moment in the limelight.
‘This is gonna be a big day for me, it’s not gonna be any other regular season game,’ she said. ‘I’m gonna treat it like a playoff game, because the world’s gonna have their eyes on it.’
