The Memphis Grizzlies finally know the road they will have to travel during the 2026-27 season, and one thing became clear almost immediately after the NBA released the schedule Thursday: some of the most compelling nights at FedExForum will involve players who used to call Memphis home.
The NBA released its 2026-27 regular-season schedule on Aug. 13, giving teams 80 of their eventual 82 games. The results from the Emirates NBA Cup will determine the final two games.
For Memphis, the season begins Oct. 21 at FedExForum against the Utah Jazz. That is not just another opening night. It means an immediate reunion with Jaren Jackson Jr., who was traded to Utah during an offseason that continued a major reshaping of the Grizzlies’ roster.
There will not be much time for Memphis to settle in after opening night. Two days later, the Grizzlies travel to face the Golden State Warriors before continuing the trip against Sacramento, Utah, and Portland. Memphis will play five of its first six games away from FedExForum, including the Oct. 29 meeting with the Trail Blazers.
That Portland game carries its own storyline after the Grizzlies traded Ja Morant to the Trail Blazers this summer. Morant spent the first seven seasons of his NBA career in Memphis and became the face of the franchise after the Grizzlies selected him with the second overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.
His first trip back to Memphis will come later. The Trail Blazers visit FedExForum on Feb. 6 in a nationally televised game on Prime Video, one of the dates that immediately jumps off the schedule. The teams will remain in Memphis and meet again Feb. 8.
No matter how anyone feels about the way Morant’s time with the Grizzlies ended, his return should be one of the most anticipated games of the season. For years, Morant and Memphis were almost inseparable. He helped turn the Grizzlies into one of the league’s most entertaining teams and produced some of the franchise’s biggest moments. Seeing him walk into FedExForum wearing another uniform will be different.
Desmond Bane’s return to Memphis is another date worth circling. The Orlando Magic visit FedExForum on Feb. 10, giving Bane an opportunity he didn’t get last season: a true return to the building where his NBA career began.
Bane and the Magic faced the Grizzlies twice last season, but neither game took place in Memphis. Both were part of the NBA’s European schedule, with games in Berlin and London. So while Bane has already faced his former team, he hasn’t had that moment of walking back into FedExForum as an opponent. That should make Feb. 10 feel a little different.
Bane spent five seasons with the Grizzlies and became an important part of a team that grew from a young roster into a Western Conference contender. Memphis watched him develop from the 30th pick in the 2020 NBA Draft into one of the league’s better shooters. Now Memphis fans will finally get the chance to welcome him back.
The schedule also brings several of the NBA’s marquee teams to Beale Street. The Los Angeles Lakers make their first visit Nov. 29 and return March 30. Golden State comes to FedExForum on Nov. 19 and Dec. 14, while the defending NBA champion New York Knicks visit Feb. 15. Boston arrives Feb. 18, and Oklahoma City makes multiple appearances in Memphis during the season.
Memphis will again be part of the NBA’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day schedule. The Grizzlies host the Houston Rockets on Jan. 18 at 6:30 p.m. Central at FedExForum. The game will be available nationally on Peacock, continuing a Memphis tradition that has become about much more than basketball.
One question remains unanswered: where fans will watch the rest of the Grizzlies’ games locally. According to the Grizzlies, the team’s local/regional broadcast partner for the 2026-27 season will be announced at a later date. That is a significant detail for fans who have been waiting to find out what their local viewing options will look like this season.
The national television schedule also tells a story about where the Grizzlies currently stand. After years when Memphis and Morant became regular fixtures in nationally televised games, this version of the Grizzlies will have to earn some of that national attention back. The league’s television spotlight has shifted toward established contenders and teams featuring some of its biggest stars.
That does not mean the Grizzlies will lack intriguing storylines.
This is a different Memphis team entering a different era. The franchise has moved on from two players who were once considered cornerstones in Morant and Jackson, and the emphasis now shifts toward what the younger roster can become. That makes the schedule more than a collection of dates. It provides the first look at how this new version of the Grizzlies will be tested.
February could be particularly revealing. Memphis has a stretch of home games that includes Philadelphia, Portland twice, Orlando, the Clippers, New York, San Antonio and Boston. The two Portland games will understandably receive much of the attention, but the month could also help clarify where the Grizzlies stand as the season moves toward its final stretch.
March, however, will test them differently. The Grizzlies will spend plenty of time away from Memphis, with trips that include New York, Atlanta, Dallas, Boston, Chicago, Golden State and Los Angeles. By then, the novelty of a new season will have worn off, and the Western Conference standings will be taking shape.
The regular season concludes April 11 in Dallas against the Mavericks.
Schedules never tell us exactly what a season will become. Injuries happen. Young players develop faster than expected. Teams that look dangerous in August can look entirely different by February.
But this schedule does give Memphis fans several dates to circle.
Jackson returns immediately on opening night. Morant eventually returns to FedExForum in a Portland uniform, plus the return of Bane. The Lakers, Warriors, Celtics and Knicks come through Memphis. MLK Day remains part of the city’s basketball calendar. And fans are still waiting to learn where they can watch the Grizzlies locally throughout the season.
Somewhere between all those reunions, marquee matchups and unanswered questions, the Grizzlies will begin the more important work of figuring out exactly who they are now.
The 2026-27 season will not simply be about watching former Grizzlies come back to Memphis. It will be about finding out what the next version of Memphis basketball looks like.
