Memphis Grizzlies’ Mario Chalmers Turns 32 Today
Preparing for his 11th NBA season, today is Mario Chalmers’ 32nd birthday.
Today, Mario Chalmers celebrates another birthday. Hopefully he celebrates it as hard as Memphis Grizzlies fans have celebrated many of his clutch plays during his time in a Grizzly uniform.
It was not always cheers in Memphis toward Chalmers. Let us flash back to ten years ago.
In the 2008 NCAA Men’s Basketball National Championship Game, it was the University of Kansas Jayhawks facing off against the University of Memphis Tigers. What initially seemed like a championship headed for Beale Street actually resulted in a celebration for Lawrence, Kansas due to late-game heroics by Chalmers.
After Derrick Rose connected on one of two free-throw attempts while in a double-bonus situation, 10.8 seconds remained in regulation. The Kansas Jayhawks had to scramble for a final good look at the basket — and that they did. Mario wound up with the ball in his hands and released a game-tying shot prior to the sound of the buzzer. Splash!
Overtime.
Kansas would pull ahead in the extra period, defeating Memphis by a final score of 68-75 in San Antonio, Texas. At the conclusion of the game, Mario received the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player award.
Grizzlies fans must be appreciative of ‘Rio. Once the root cause of a devastating ending to a potential Memphis Tigers national title, Chalmers smoothed things over with Memphians via game-winners of his own in a Grizzly uniform.
Via a multi-player trade, Mario arrived in the 901 fitting the “grit-‘n’-grind” mold that makes some players into fan favorites within the city of Memphis. He has shed blood, sweat, and tears for the Grizzlies in a short amount of time.
After sustaining a torn Achilles tendon on March 9th, 2016, it was not certain if the ex-Jayhawk would return to NBA action. Considering the significance of the injury, Mario Chalmers did not return to full basketball activity at any point of the following season. It was not until the start of the 2017-18 did ‘Rio commit to the NBA once again.
This is where the Memphis Grizzlies got lucky. Though it was solely a business decision, the Grizz waived Chalmers immediately following his significant injury in 2016. It would be understandable if bad blood would have developed between the two parties, but that was not the case in 2017. ‘Rio did the unthinkable. He signed a new contract with the Grizzlies and never looked back.
Not many professional ballers get to experience as many achievements as that Mario Chalmers has earned in his basketball career. Take a look:
- 2004-05 McDonald’s All-American
- 2007 Big-12 Co-Defensive Player of the Year
- 2008 NCAA National Champion
- 2008 NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player
- 2008-09 NBA All-Rookie Second Team
- 2012 NBA World Champion
- 2013 NBA World Champion
Chalmers will become an unrestricted free-agent this summer. He will be entering his 11th season in the NBA with career averages of 8.9 points, 2.5 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.5 steals per game on 41.7% accuracy from the field (35.1% from beyond the arc). ‘Rio has appeared in 646 total regular season games, including 400 starts. Perhaps a more impressive statistic is his 99 playoff game appearances, including 73 starts.
Happy 32nd birthday to Mario Chalmers from the Beale Street Bears gang.
Go Grizz!
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