I arrived in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1991, precisely a decade before the Vancouver Grizzlies became the Memphis Grizzlies. I enjoyed those first 10 years in the Bluff City, and as a man whose life has been wrapped in sports from the get-go, I found plenty of fun in this town. But nothing like the 2021-22 Memphis Grizzlies. Not even close. Not in the Nineties when I was a young man, and not since, as the years have carried me into middle age. I suppose all good things — even great things — must come to an end, as we’re taught early. But I’m not sure the 2021-22 Memphis Grizzlies will ever end, not for the bar they’ve set for professional basketball in the Mid-South, and not for what they achieved, even falling two rounds shy of the franchise’s first NBA Finals.
In a league celebrating its diamond anniversary, the 2021-22 Grizzlies put a sparkle on the sport by becoming the youngest team in NBA history to win 55 games (average age: 24.4 years). In so doing, the Grizzlies tied the franchise record for victories (56) and won their first Southwest Division title. (Banners are hung for such. The Grizzlies must raise one at FedExForum.) This young, effervescent squad pulled off a trifecta of sorts, leading the NBA in rebounds (49.2 per game), blocked shots (6.5), and steals (9.8). And look at those statistics: Each of them is an effort stat. The fact that Memphis topped all 30 NBA clubs in effort . . . well, that shouldn’t surprise anyone who watched as many as five or 10 games over the last seven months.
Alas, the NBA is a league of star power. Teams win championships with the celebrated, the marketed, the first-team All-NBA selections. For all the blue-collar strength the 2021-22 Grizzlies exhibited, they also featured Ja Morant, a young athlete — he’ll turn 23 in August — unlike any other this city has seen. (This city has seen Reggie White and Bo Jackson.) The NBA’s 2020 Rookie of the Year, Morant somehow claimed the league’s Most Improved Player Award two years later. His scoring average did leap from 19.7 per game to 27.4 (a figure that would have ranked sixth in the league had Morant not missed 25 games with injuries). But numbers won’t be what Morant leaves basketball fans at the end of what we hope is a long career. He’ll leave the “Did you see” conversations, stacked upon one another as hyperventilating children might do at a circus gone wild.
“Did you see Ja’s two-handed block?!?”
“Did you see Ja’s dunk?!?” We’ll have to be much more specific with this one.
“Did you see Ja’s wrap-around pass?!?”
“Did you see Ja’s buzzer-beating scoop?!?”
The Grizzlies have the superstar they’ll need to win two more rounds in the playoffs. It’s now just a measure of (1) keeping Morant healthy and (2) accelerating the team’s learning curve for postseason basketball. The Golden State Warriors — a few of them, at least — knew enough to earn a call here or an uncontested shot there, and that was enough in a best-of-seven series.
The great thing about young teams (if coached right, and thank you, Taylor Jenkins): They get better. The Grizzlies’ roster is in the hands of the NBA’s Executive of the Year (thank you, Zach Kleiman), and will surely receive a tweak or two before the 2022-23 season tips off. But you can count on Desmond Bane (future All-Star) returning. You can count on Jaren Jackson Jr. (future All-Star) further developing into the league’s best shot-blocking-three-point-shooter. And you can count on the memory bar climbing even higher for Memphis, Tennessee’s lone big-league operation. If you’re new to town, count your blessings for choosing this city and the basketball it delivers. If you’ve been around a while like me, adjust that memory bar one more time. But leave a higher slot or two.
