The “Grit and Grind” moniker is synonymous with Memphis Grizzlies basketball. Here are the 15 players who have defined this era of Grizzlies hoops.
The Memphis Grizzlies first relocated from Vancouver in 2001 after six rough years in the Pacific Northwest. Better times were ahead for this relatively new basketball franchise. It absolutely helped that they got their first star player in the form of big man Pau Gasol in a 2001 draft day trade with the Atlanta Hawks.
Memphis would eventually make the NBA playoffs for three straight seasons from 2004 to 2006, but went 0-12 in the Grizzlies’ first 12 playoff games since relocating. After missing the playoffs two straight years in 2007 and 2008, Memphis parted ways with Gasol in a questionable trade at the time with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Memphis got back in return none other than Gasol’s younger brother Marc Gasol, who would eventually become the greatest player in franchise history. A few years later, a new era of Grizzlies basketball was under way.
Beginning in 2010, something called “Grit and Grind” was bubbling down in Southwestern Tennessee. It was a most glorious brew, as it would become a moniker this Southeastern metropolis fully embraced.
“Grit and Grind” isn’t a catchy slogan, but a way of basketball life. It’s high pressure on-ball defense, milk the clock offensively, get buckets in the paint and assert one’s dominance physically on the opposition. It is a blue-collar brand of playing hoops that Memphians are glad to call their own.
Though “Grit and Grind’s” peak years were through 2017, it will be hard to separate a new era of Grizzlies basketball with a few players often associated with “Grit and Grind” still on the roster like Gasol, Mike Conley and JaMychal Green. “Grit and Grind” may be on the way out, but here are the 15 players we will best remember for shaping this era of Memphis hoops.
Mario Chalmers is better known for his two previous stops in his basketball career. He hit the game-tying 3-pointer in the 2008 National Championship against Derrick Rose’s Memphis Tigers to force overtime. Chalmers was a huge reason Bill Self’s team won one of the most compelling Final Four games to date.
After leaving Lawrence to begin his professional career, Chalmers was for a while the starting point guard on the Big Three teams with the Miami Heat that featured LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. In 2015, he would be traded to Memphis along with James Ennis for Beno Udrih and Jarnell Stokes. Chalmers hasn’t played for any other NBA team since that 2015 deal.
Yes, he ruptured his Achilles’ tendon in 2016 and was waived by the Grizzlies in March of that year. While still recovering, he would re-sign with Memphis during the 2017 NBA offseason, spending last season with the club.
Chalmers may inevitably be best remembered for his time in Kansas and with Miami. However, he has carved out a memorable role with the Grizzlies since coming over in 2015. Through the 2017-18 NBA season, Chalmers played in 121 games for the Grizzlies, but only made 17 career starts. However, he averaged 9.1 points and 3.4 assists per game in 22.1 minutes per contest.
In essence, he has become the backup point guard to “Money” Mike Conley for Memphis. Chalmers isn’t more than a viable backup at this point of his career, but has always played a brand of antagonistic basketball as a floor general.
He obviously likes to have the ball in his hands, which has certainly made up for his lack of defensive prowess. Chalmers may not be a reliable shooting, as he has only made 39.8 percent of his field goals and just 29.8 percent of his 3-point attempts since arriving in Memphis. However, he does play the point with a chip on his shoulder, as one would expect as a native of the Last Frontier in Anchorage, Alaska.
At 32 years old, Chalmers may have a few years left in the tank as a viable backup point guard in the NBA. He remains unsigned heading into the 2018-19 NBA season. Having ruptured his Achilles only a few years ago and being on the wrong side of 30 have probably robbed him of any explosiveness Chalmers might have had off the dribble in his youth.
However, he does familiarity with Grizzlies head coach J.B. Bickerstaff should he need to sign a point guard off the street. What we do know is that Chalmers will likely have to grind his way to and through his next NBA contract. It would fit right in with Memphis.
Beno Udrih spent last season playing in Lithuania for Zalgiris Kaunas. But before that, the Slovenian guard had spent the previous 13 years playing in the NBA for several franchises, including the Grizzlies.
Originally drafted by the San Antonio Spurs in the 2004 NBA Draft at No. 28 overall, Udrih spent his first decade in the NBA with five different teams before making his way to Memphis. Udrih first came to the Grizzlies off the waiver wire in February 2014.
While he did sign a multi-year deal with Memphis that offseason, he was dealt by the Grizzlies front office along with Jarnell Stokes for Mario Chalmers and James Ennis. In total, Udrih only played in 97 games over part of three seasons with Memphis, making just 12 starts.
However, Udrih was with the team during the height of the “Grit and Grind” era. Though he wasn’t on the team that made it to the Western Conference Finals in 2013, some might argue that the 2014-15 team had its best shot at winning a title to date. Memphis was actually up two games to one on the eventual NBA Champion Golden State Warriors, but that’s another story for another time.
In 97 games with Memphis, Udrih averaged 7.0 points and 2.6 assists per game in 17.2 minutes per game. Outside of this four-year stint with the Sacramento Kings from 2007 to 2011, that might have been his best stretch of basketball in the NBA. Memphis was at the peak of its powers in the West and Udrih had successfully carved out a meaningful rotational role for nearly 100 games.
In 17 total playoff games with the Grizzlies, Udrih averaged 7.7 points and 1.9 assists per game in 17.5 minutes per contest. Though those totals aren’t overly impressive, they are a slight uptick over his Memphis regular season average, meaning that he could be counted on in the early rounds of an NBA playoff team’s rotation.
Overall, Udrih was an average offensive guard coming off the bench, but a slightly below replacement level one on the defensive end of the floor. This led him to being just an average player on a good team. Though he might have won two NBA Championships in three postseason trips with the San Antonio Spurs, Udrih’s role off the bench was key to Memphis’ success in those two seasons.
What helps him achieve “Grit and Grind” status with the club as well as being on two of Memphis’ more compelling playoff teams was his ability to quickly acclimated to the roster and be a bit of a glue guy in the Grizzlies guard rotation. He might have been a better player in Sacramento and had more team success in San Antonio. However, the best combination of both for him obviously came in Memphis.
Jeff Green might have only spent part of two seasons on the Grizzlies, but his time in Memphis was definitely memorable. For better or worse, the Grizzlies wanted a more dynamic scoring option over the savvy defensive-minded Tayshaun Prince. So the Grizzlies traded Prince away in exchange for the always alluring Green with the Boston Celtics in January 2015.
That 2014-15 team at times looked like it could win an NBA championship. The Golden State Warriors weren’t the juggernaut we all know them to be now. Memphis was in that upper crust of about five teams at the time (Memphis, Golden State, the Atlanta Hawks, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Portland Trail Blazers). Man, how do things change over time.
Green had been with the Celtics since February 2011. He might have missed the championship window in Boston, but was seen as a decent starter at the 3 and a sixth-man type of player coming off the bench if need be. Memphis wanted his scoring, and especially the few times each year Green would just go on an offensive tear. It’s his calling card as a pro.
However, the deal didn’t turn out to be a great one for the Grizzlies or Green. While he averaged 13.1 points per game in 45 games in 2014-15, he only shot 42.7 percent from the floor while attempt 10.9 field goals per contest. Though he sort of filled that Rudy Gay role of a get-his-buckets 3, Memphis slightly regressed in the second half after his arrival.
The Grizzlies were 26-11 on Jan. 11, the day before they traded for Green. Memphis went 55-27 that season, meaning the Grizzlies were 29-16 after his arrival. The record discrepancy isn’t glaring, but the chemistry was always a little wonky with Green in the mix in Memphis.
After the Grizzlies parted ways with him in 2016 in a deal with the Los Angeles Clippers, he quickly became a journeyman out on the wing. Since being dealt to Los Angeles, Green has been on four NBA teams since February 2016. He’ll begin the 2018-19 NBA season on the best team in the worst division in basketball in the Washington Wizards.
In 98 career games with the Grizzlies over two seasons, Green made 68 starts, averaging 29.6 minutes per game. He averaged 12.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game for Memphis, shooting 42.9 percent from the field and 33.6 percent from beyond the arc.
Overall, Green would play well enough to help Memphis win 55 games and reach the Western Conference Semifinals. However, it was a deal that honestly hurt the Grizzlies more than it helped. Though a captivating player for the Celtics and the Seattle SuperSonics/Oklahoma City Thunder before that, Green’s time in Memphis essentially brought an end to him being seen as a reliable starting NBA small forward.
Darrell Arthur is now entering his second decade in the NBA in 2018. He is on his third NBA team, as he will begin year 11 in the league as a member of the lowly Phoenix Suns. While nondescript on a national level, he did spend ample time both with the Grizzlies and the Denver Nuggets after that.
Memphis traded for Arthur’s draft rights in 2008 with the then New Orleans Hornets. Arthur initially went No. 27 to the Hornets, but spent his first five professional seasons in Memphis. He was part of the rebuilding effort after Pau Gasol was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Arthur was part of the NCAA Championship team at Kansas alongside former Grizzlies point guard Mario Chalmers. While his NBA career up to this point hasn’t been anything special like his brief time in Kansas was, he did play his first four seasons over a five-year period in Memphis.
Arthur averaged 6.7 points and 3.9 rebounds per game playing 18.2 minutes per contest. Though he never averaged double figures in scoring, his best statistical season came in 2010-11 while with Memphis. Arthur averaged 9.1 points and 4.3 rebounds per game while playing 20.1 minutes per game and appearing in 80.
Unfortunately, Arthur had to miss the entire 2011-12 NBA season due to an Achilles injury. He played 59 games in 2012-13 for Memphis, but wasn’t the same player. Though he would receive a qualifying offer from the Grizzlies in his restricted free agency, he would be traded to the Denver Nuggets along with Joffrey Lauvergne for Kosta Koufos in June 2013.
Arthur played the next five seasons from 2013 to 2018 with the Nuggets in mostly a reserve role. Though he appeared in 256 games for Denver, he only started in 29. When compared to his time in Memphis, it was pretty clear Denver never looked at him as a fringe starter like the Grizzlies did. He might have started 64 games as a rookie, but only started 13 in his final four years with Memphis.
Overall, Arthur was mostly seen as an offensive liability during his time with Memphis. However, he was slightly above average on the defensive end of the floor. Memphis could count on Arthur to crash the boards and come up with the big defensive rebound coming off the bench.
“Grit and Grind” was in its beginning stages when Arthur was on the time. He might have been traded to the Nuggets when this era of Memphis basketball was at its peak. However, Arthur’s workmanlike approach to playing forward, getting buckets in the paint and coming up with the big rebound definitely helped set the tone for things to come.
DeMarre Carroll eventually found his way in the NBA, but it wasn’t the easiest journey to relevancy for him. Carroll split his college career between Vanderbilt and Missouri playing for his uncle Mike Anderson. He would end up being a late first-round pick by the Grizzlies in 2009.
Carroll might have been First-Team All-Big 12 during his senior season with Missouri, but he had to eventually reinvent himself to have staying power in the NBA. As a rookie in 2009-10 with Memphis, Carroll played in 71 games. However, he only started one game for the Grizzlies and averaged just 2.9 points in 11.2 minutes per contest.
After just seven games with the Grizzlies in 2010-11, Carroll would be traded to the Houston Rockets along with Hasheem Thabeet and a future first-round pick for Shane Battier and Ish Smith. Carroll only played five games with the 2011 Rockets before being waived. Simply put, Carroll’s NBA career was in the balances.
It was with the Utah Jazz he began fully embracing his “Junkyard Dog” mentality. While with the Atlanta Hawks, Carroll would become a fan favorite as the fifth starter on the 2014-15 team that won 60 games.
He would make bank by inking a life-changing contract with the Toronto Raptors, but injuries robbed him the chance of living up to it. Today, he plays for a former Hawks coach in Kenny Atkinson with the Brooklyn Nets.
So Carroll may have only played in 78 games over two forgettable seasons with the Grizzlies. Normally, that wouldn’t merit inclusion on a list like this, but his time with the Grizzlies was more significant than you’d think.
First off, he was traded for an undeniable grinder in Battier to end his Memphis career. Second, Carroll’s struggles in Memphis eventually ignited the “Junkyard Dog” from within. Lastly, his style of play with Mike Budenholzer’s Hawks would have fit in perfectly with the “Grit and Grind” Grizzlies. In essence, he’d be a lankier, albeit lesser version of “The Grindfather” that is Tony Allen.
Carroll’s inclusion is a bit of a reach, but his failure in Memphis and future embrace of all things hustle, in a way, might have influenced all the good things that were to come with Grizzlies basketball. Had he been a rookie say three years later, Carroll would possibly be a beloved player in Memphis basketball lore.
While DeMarre Carroll’s “Junkyard Dog” mentality came after his time with the Grizzlies, Shane Battier totally laid the foundation for the “Grit and Grind” era that would later be built off his time in Memphis. Battier was an outstanding collegiate player at Duke, ending up being the Grizzlies’ No. 6 overall pick in 2001.
He played his first five NBA seasons with the team that drafted him. Battier, along with No. 3 overall pick in the same draft Pau Gasol, would help usher in a new era of Grizzlies basketball. The team would relocate to Memphis from Vancouver before the start of their rookie years in 2001.
Battier made the All-Rookie First Team in 2002, where he averaged 14.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game in 39.7 minutes per contest. While he never became an NBA All-Star in his 13-year career with three teams, Battier was a versatile spark plug that could start out on the wing or come off the bench.
In his first stint with Memphis, Battier averaged over 10 points per game, while making well over 35 percent of his field goal attempts from beyond the arc. As a third-year player, Battier would assume a rotational role with the team coming off the bench. This helped Memphis reach the Western Conference Playoffs in three straight seasons from 2004 to 2006.
After playing in 81 games and making 81 starts for the 2005-06 Grizzlies, a team that he averaged 10.1 points and 5.3 rebounds per game for, Battier was traded to the Houston Rockets. This was a draft-day deal that brought both Rudy Gay and Stromile Swift to Memphis in exchange for Battier’s services down in Houston.
Battier played parts of five seasons with the Rockets before being traded back to the Grizzlies in 2011 alongside Ish Smith for Carroll, Hasheem Thabeet and a future first-round pick. In his second stop with the Grizzlies, Battier averaged 5.0 points and 4.0 rebounds in 23 games for Memphis. The next offseason would see Battier sign with the Miami Heat, where he would win two NBA championships and close out his solid NBA career in 2014 at the age of 35.
Though Battier only played 23 games during the early stages of the “Grit and Grind” era in Memphis in 2011, his impact on the Grizzlies’ basketball culture the first time around was obvious. Battier was one of the best players in Duke history, but learned very quickly that being a team player and a grinder would give him staying power in the league.
He would be named Teammate of the Year in 2013-14 in his final NBA season with the Heat. In parts of six seasons, Battier averaged 10.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per game in 419 appearances with the Grizzlies. Though his stats will never look overly impressive, Battier did the little things to help his team win. He did that in his prime with Houston and Miami, but it all got started in Memphis. We can look at him as the Forefather of the Grind in Grizzlies history.
Quincy Pondexter has had an injury-riddled NBA career up to this point. However, the bulk of it has come with the Grizzlies and he did play for the team during the climb and peak of “Grit and Grind.”
Pondexter played his rookie season out of Washington with the then New Orleans Hornets in 2010-11. Then one day before the start of the 2011-12 NBA season, Pondexter was traded to the Grizzlies for shooting guard Greivis Vasquez. Pondexter would go on to play for Memphis for the next 3.5 seasons.
In his first two seasons with the Grizzlies, Pondexter had his health. He appeared in a combined 123 games, making nine starts. Though he only averaged 5.2 points and 1.3 rebounds per game in his 3.5 seasons with the Grizzlies, Pondexter was a guy that could be plugged into the rotation and contribute off the bench.
However, the injuries started adding up in year four of his NBA career. Pondexter suffered stress fracture in his right foot in December and would miss the rest of 2013-14. He only played in 15 games for the Grizzlies that season. Pondexter would return in 2014-15, but would be traded to the New Orleans Pelicans in a three-team deal with the Boston Celtics involving Jeff Green and Austin Rivers.
That’s when the injuries started to mount for Pondexter. He suffered a knee injury and needed three surgeries to get it right. All the while, he developed a life-threatening skin ailment that nearly cost him his career.
After spending 2015-17 out of basketball, Pondexter returned to play for the 2017-18 Chicago Bulls. He is now a member of the San Antonio Spurs, the fourth franchise of his NBA career. At only 30 years old, hopefully Pondexter has a few good years left in the tank before calling it a career on his terms.
Pondexter’s best season with the Grizzlies came in 2012-13 where he averaged 6.4 points and 2.2 rebounds on 42.8 percent shooting. He played in 21.1 minutes per game and shot 39.5 percent from distance.
Overall, Pondexter was never more than an average wing for the Grizzlies. Though a slight defensive liability, he did have a knack for hitting the big shot. Being able to space the floor with his smooth stroke from 3-point land was an effective weapon to complement the physical nature of the Grizzlies’ offensive game in the paint during peak “Grit and Grind”.
It was a weird NBA career for O.J. Mayo and sadly, it might be over. He may only be 30 years old, but has been over two years since he last played in the league. Having served his two-year suspension for drug policy violations, Mayo could technically re-sign with an NBA team for 2018-19. He remains a free agent.
Mayo originally went one-and-done with the USC Trojans in 2007-08. Seen as one of the best NBA prospects in his high school recruiting class, Mayo went No. 3 overall to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2008 NBA Draft. However, his draft rights were traded for Memphis’ No. 5 overall pick in power forward Kevin Love in a blockbuster draft-day deal. Not the best move for the Grizzlies in hindsight.
Mayo spent his first four professional seasons with the Grizzlies. He was an All-Rookie First Team member in 2008-09 when he averaged 18.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. Mayo played in and started all 82 regular season games for the Grizzlies, averaging 38.0 minutes per contest.
He shot 43.8 percent from the field, 38.4 percent from distance and 87.9 percent from the charity stripe during that impressive rookie season. It seemed that the Grizzlies had found a reliable shooting guard they could build around in a young Mayo. However, that would prove to be his best season both with the Grizzlies and in the NBA.
Mayo may have averaged 17.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.0 assist per game during his second season in the league, playing in and starting all 82 games. However, his personality and off-the-court issues began rearing their ugly head.
He got into a fight with fellow Grizzlies wing Tony Allen over a card game, would often be late to shoot-around and tested positive for a banned substance in 2011. Mayo’s role would change with the arrival of Allen out on the wing. Though he played in all 66 games in the shortened 2011-12 NBA season, Mayo was only a reserve player for the Grizzlies.
While he could have carved out a sixth man role, and been very good at it, Mayo became more of a headache than a good thing in Memphis. The Grizzlies wouldn’t match his offer sheet in his unrestricted free agency, as Mayo signed with the Dallas Mavericks in summer 2012. After two years with the Mavericks, they declined to match his offer sheet, leading him to sign a multi-year deal with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Overall, the talent was absolutely there with Mayo. However, his friction with the Grizzlies ultimately gave way to Allen usurping him on the Memphis depth chart. Mayo wasn’t exactly “Grit and Grind”, but his departure from the team definitely allowed the Grizzlies to really tap into that iconic, blue-collar identity that Memphis loves so much.
JaMychal Green may have come on at the tail-end of the peak “Grit and Grind” years. However, he has certainly found a home playing for the Grizzlies at the four. Green went undrafted out of Alabama in 2012. After playing in the then D-League in the San Antonio Spurs organization, he came to Memphis in 2015 and has been with the club ever since.
Green initially signed with the Grizzlies on a 10-day contract in February 2015. He ended up playing in 20 regular season games with the Grizzlies down the stretch, starting in one game. Green may have only averaged 2.7 points in 7.0 minutes per game in his first season with Memphis, but he did play in five playoff games for the Grizzlies that year.
In 2015-16, Green would more than find his way into the Grizzlies rotation. He played in 78 games, making 15 starts while averaging 7.4 points and 4.8 rebounds per game in 18.5 minutes per contest. With increased play, he eventually usurped Grizzlies fan favorite Zach Randolph for a starting role with the team the following year.
It was bittersweet to say the least. Randolph is a Memphis basketball legend who we will absolutely get to in a bit. While Randolph was still a good player, Green’s rise as a player in Memphis saw him start in 75 of 77 games in 2016-17. Green averaged 8.9 points and 7.1 rebounds per contest that season.
His climb as a player led to an interesting free agency for Green and the Grizzlies in 2017. Memphis knew that they had a starter at forward in Green, but had to choose between him and the popular Randolph. Green came back on two-year, $27 million deal, while Randolph joined former Grizzlies head coach Dave Joerger in Northern California with the Sacramento Kings.
In his first year on that new deal, Green averaged career highs in all major statistical categories. He had 10.3 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.6 steals and 0.5 blocks per game in 2017-18. Yes, Memphis struggled as a team last year, but Green had his best season to date.
Though he may never become anything close to a star player in the NBA, he fits right in with the roster J.B. Bickerstaff has in place entering 2018-19. He can average close to a double-double to complement both point guard Mike Conley and center Marc Gasol as they play on the back-nine of their respective primes.
Green is entering the final year of his contract with the Grizzlies. If he continues to build on what he has done so far, he could be back with the team on a new deal. However, he could be a viable trade asset at the deadline if Memphis falls out of the playoff picture. Either way, Green’s inclusion on this list is just. He is the ultimate glue guy in the front court, does great work on the glass and in the paint. But most notably, he did take the starting role from Randolph a few years back.
Tayshaun Prince was already a grinder by the time the small forward came to Memphis. He was a standout college player at Kentucky and was one of the most important players on the Detroit Pistons for over a decade. Prince won an NBA Championship as a member of the Pistons in 2004, earning four-straight All-Defensive Teams during his time with Detroit.
He may have his No. 22 jersey retired by the Pistons someday. However, he did not get to play out the rest of his NBA career with the team that drafted him in 2002 out of Kentucky. In January 2013, Prince would be part of the three-team trade between the Pistons, Grizzlies and Toronto Raptors that send small forward Rudy Gay north of the border.
Gay’s stint in Toronto was short-lived. Frankly, so was Prince’s time in Memphis. However, his two-year stint in Memphis coincided with the peak years of “Grit and Grind” from 2013 to 2015. Prince brought a veteran workmanlike mentality to the small forward position. He played in 139 games over parts of three seasons, making 121 starts.
Prince was certainly past his elite prime defensively, but helped give the Grizzlies the physical mentality they needed on defense to become an excellent NBA team.
After joining the team in January 2013, Memphis would go on to have its best season to date. They went 56-26 and made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals before falling to the division rival San Antonio Spurs.
In short, Gay might have been significantly more talented than Prince on the offensive end of the floor. However, it was Prince who provided the defensive excellence to the Grizzlies that Gay frankly could not provide.
In 27.0 minutes per game with the Grizzlies, Prince averaged 7.0 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists per contest. Those numbers jump off the page by any means, but Prince’s contributions were more than that. He gave the last little bit of his basketball prime to Memphis and the team got better because of it.
Prince’s time with the Grizzlies would come to an end midway through the 2014-15 NBA season, as he was dealt to the Boston Celtics in a three-team deal with the New Orleans Pelicans involving Jeff Green and Austin Rivers. Prince last played with the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2015-16 at the age of 35.
Rudy Gay was mentioned a good bit on the previous slide. His first 6.5 years of his NBA career were played in Memphis. While an adept scoring small forward, Gay often got his buckets in a manner that didn’t always translate to winning.
Gay was originally drafted by the Houston Rockets in 2008 out of UConn. His rights, along with Stromile Swift, were shipped to Memphis for popular team-player in forward Shane Battier. Battier would spend a good bit of his prime with the Rockets, while Gay had his best years in the NBA in Memphis uniform.
Gay was a lottery pick after a dominating college career at UConn. It should come as a surprise to no one that he made the All-Rookie First Team in 2006-07. He averaged 10.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game in 27.0 minutes per contest. Gay shot 42.2 percent from the floor as a rookie and 36.4 percent from beyond the arc.
By his second year in the league, Gay was a no-doubt starter for the Grizzlies at small forward. For the next five seasons, Gay never averaged fewer than 18.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. He would take his 16 shots per game and make somewhere above seven field goals in about every contest during this five-year window.
In essence, Gay was a model of consistency that the Grizzlies offense needed to eventually become a viable playoff threat in the deep Western Conference. However, with the addition of shooting guard O.J. Mayo in 2008, it became clear that both wings needed the ball in their hands to be an effective offensive player. Too bad there was only one ball to share between them.
Memphis had missed the NBA playoffs in each of Gay’s first four seasons with the team. While the Grizzlies would qualify for the first time since 2006 in 2011, Gay had to watch Memphis win its first-ever playoff series from sidelines due to a shoulder injury suffered in February. Memphis upset the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs before taking the Oklahoma City Thunder to seven games as a No. 8 seed in the conference semifinals.
Gay would finally get his first taste of playoff basketball in 2012, as the Grizzlies would qualify for the second straight season. While he averaged 19.0 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game in those NBA playoffs, Memphis was eliminated by the Los Angeles Clippers in seven games in their first round series.
The next season, Gay would be traded to the Toronto Raptors in a three-team deal with the Detroit Pistons that brought Tayshaun Prince to Memphis. The Grizzlies achieved new heights with Prince at the three over Gay. Gay’s stint in Toronto was short-lived, as he was dealt to the Sacramento Kings less than a year later. He spent a few years in Sacramento before becoming a sixth man with the Spurs last season. Simply put, his Memphis departure brought out peak “Grit and Grind”.
Clearly, there is a Grand Canyon-sized gap between the top-four and everybody else when it comes to “Grit and Grind”. As we unveil this era of Grizzlies basketball’s Mount Rushmore, let’s start with the greatest player in franchise history in center Marc Gasol.
After his older brother Pau Gasol was traded to the Grizzlies on draft night by the Atlanta Hawks in 2001, the younger Gasol brother would move to suburban Germantown with his family from Spain. Gasol played his high school ball at Lausanne Collegiate School in Memphis before taking his basketball talents back over to his native Spain to play for FC Barcelona and Akasvayu Girona.
In 2007, Gasol would be a second-round draft selection by the Los Angeles Lakers. Though he didn’t look to have an NBA body, the Lakers still took a chance on the younger Gasol brother. Fate would have it that he would be traded for his older brother ahead of the 2008-09 NBA season. One Gasol replaced another in Memphis and the rest is history.
Gasol would play in all 82 games as a rookie, averaging 11.8 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game in 2008-09. He made the All-Rookie Second Team, but Gasol was just getting started in his NBA career in his American hometown of Memphis.
In year four with the Grizzlies in 2011-12, Gasol made his first of three NBA All-Star Games to date, averaging 14.6 points, 8.9 rebounds and 3.1 assist per game. As Gasol entered his prime, Memphis became one of the most formidable teams in the Western Conference.
Despite not being named to the All-Star team in 2013, Gasol would start to rack up the accolades. He was named NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 2013, despite only making the All-Defensive Second Team. Gasol was also named to the All-NBA Second-Team that year, as the Grizzlies made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals.
Gasol’s on-court play would reach another level in 2014-15, as he was named to his second NBA All-Star Game. He averaged 17.4 points, 8.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game that year, rightfully earning a spot on the All-NBA First Team roster. He and his older brother both got to play in that All-Star game that season.
Gasol made his third NBA All-Star team to date in 2017, as he set a career-high averaging 19.5 points and 4.6 assists per game, while hauling in 6.3 rebounds per contest. He has also hit the two biggest buckets in Grizzlies history. His dagger to beat the Los Angeles Clippers with his own take on the Conor McGregor walk is fantastic. His game-winner over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 4 of the first round of the 2017 Western Conference Playoffs was so silky smooth.
Mike Conley is the floor general that makes it all work on the Memphis hardwood. A blue-chip prospect coming out of Ohio State, Memphis drafted the son of an Olympic track star No. 4 overall in 2004. The Indianapolis native has been with the Grizzlies ever since.
While Conley has somehow never been an NBA All-Star, his No. 11 jersey will almost certainly hang in the FedEx Forum rafters when he calls it a career. Grossly underrated in the national landscape, Conley is everything you would want out of a star point guard.
He is an adept playmaker with the ball in his hands, always willing to help out on defense and make his teammates better. If need be, Conley will drive for a bucket in the paint or set up from beyond the arc to stretch the floor. Without a doubt, the offense runs through Conley, as he is the Memphis Maestro on the hardwood.
Conley has averaged 14.3 points, 5.7 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game during his first 11 years with the Grizzlies. He has shot 44.1 percent from the floor and 37.7 percent from 3-point land in his Memphis career through the 2017-18 NBA season.
Conley has been a starter since day one arriving in Memphis, having made 688 starts in 718 career games with the Grizzlies. He has started in 56 playoff games for the Grizzlies as well, averaging 16.5 points, 6.7 assists and 3.7 rebounds per postseason contest. Those totals are higher than his career average during the regular season. Basically, Conley’s brings his best game when it is needed in the spring and early summer.
But it’s not just about stats with Conley. Other point guards in the Western Conference might put up better numbers. It’s a shame sometimes that the Grizzlies don’t play in the weaker Eastern Conference, as Conley would have made by now at least a handful of NBA All-Star games.
Simply put, the guy plays with tremendous heart and an undying loyalty to the organization that drafted him out of Ohio State in 2007. No matter the injury that has succumbed to, Conley claws his way back to the Memphis hardwood and gives his team a chance to win in every game.
Nationally, NBA fans know who he is and respect his passion for the game of basketball. In Memphis, Conley is a legendary ball handler and the general of “Grit and Grind”. He may not end up in the hall of fame, but that really doesn’t matter. Conley is without question one of the greatest Grizzlies in franchise history. Replacing him at some point will be tough sledding for Memphis for sure. He’s just been that key to the team’s success for the last decade plus.
You don’t have “Grit and Grind” in Memphis without power forward Zach Randolph. Affectionately referred to as “Z-Bo”, Randolph finally became an All-Star and a hardwood hero once joining the Grizzlies in 2009.
Initially a one-and-done player with Michigan State, Randolph was a first-round pick by the Portland Trail Blazers in 2001. As a player in his early 20s, Randolph showed obvious talent in the low-post as a scorer and as a rebounder. However, the Trail Blazers were in their “Jail Blazer” era and that wasn’t ideal for the young forward from Marion, Indiana.
After six good, but not great seasons with the Trail Blazers, Randolph would be dealt to the New York Knicks in a deal involving Steve Francis and Channing Frye. He spent a year and a half in the Big Apple before being shipped to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for Cuttino Mobley in November 2008.
In summer 2009, Randolph would be dealt one last time, this time to the place he’ll forever call his NBA home in Memphis. It only took Quentin Richardson, but Randolph finally made it to Memphis in 2009, where he would spend the next eight NBA seasons.
At 28 years old in 2009-10, Randolph finally made his first NBA All-Star team. He averaged 20.8 points, 11.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game in his first season with the Grizzlies. Despite not being able to jump over a phone book, Randolph played his best ball in the paint with a ferocious tenacity to compete. He worked on his craft and finally put it all together with the Grizzlies in his late 20s and early 30s.
His toughness in the paint playing alongside Marc Gasol at center made the Grizzlies one of the hardest teams to score on night in and night out. Opponents had to hope the 3-ball was working when they played the Grizzlies in the “Grindhouse”. Otherwise, they’d be all black and blue from trying to fight for every bucket in the paint.
Randolph would make a second NBA All-Star team in 2012-13, as he averaged 15.4 points, 11.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. He also made an All-NBA Third Team in 2010-11 in his second season with Memphis, his only All-NBA team to date.
In short, “Grit and Grind” was centered around Randolph in the front court. He was terrific for the Grizzlies for his first seven seasons with the team. In year eight with Memphis, he would be usurped by JaMychal Green on the depth chart. In 2017, Randolph signed as a free agent with the Sacramento Kings. Upon his departure from Memphis, the Grizzlies organization has stated that no other Grizzlies player will don No. 50 and that his jersey will be retired once he does call it a career.
Marc Gasol may very well end up in Springfield one day. Mike Conley is without question the greatest point guard in franchise history. Zach Randolph was the backbone of this era’s front court. But Tony Allen is “Grit and Grind” in every sense of the phrase. It should come as no surprise that “The Grindfather” comes in at No. 1 on this list.
Allen’s basketball journey to stardom in Memphis was an interesting one. He went the junior college route out of his native Chicago. He would end up playing in the Big 12 for the Oklahoma State Cowboys before being a late first-round draft pick in 2004 by the Boston Celtics.
Allen was a solid role player with Boston for several years. While he won a title with the Celtics in 2008, he only averaged over 10 points and 20 minutes per game with Boston once. That was in 2006-07. After six years with the Celtics, Allen made the best decision of his professional life by signing with the Grizzlies as a free agent in summer 2010.
Upon his arrival in Memphis, “Grit and Grind” was born. His defensive presence made former lottery pick O.J. Mayo expendable. Over time, his defense-first mentality out on the wing won out over Rudy Gay getting his empty buckets at the three. In short, “Grit and Grind” was Allen’s calling card and the driving force behind the team.
Though a good player in Boston, Allen became one of the greatest defenders in NBA history with Memphis. During his seven years with the Grizzlies, he made a ridiculous six All-Defensive teams. He was on the All-Defensive First Team in 2012, 2013 and 2015. Allen made the All-Defensive Second Team in 2011, 2016 and 2017 with Memphis. The only year with Memphis he did not was 2013-14 where he only played in 55 regular season games.
“The Grindfather” perfectly complemented the offensive-minded scoring point guard Conley, while accentuating the elite defensive play of Gasol at center and the tremendous rebounding of Randolph at power forward. Few teams, if any, had an identity quite like the Grizzlies during the peak “Grit and Grind” years. Allen was 100 percent the reason for that.
His popularity among the Grizzlies faithful got to be so big that pepper grinders bearing his likeness were handed out before a game at the FedEx Forum. For a guy that never averaged double figures for the team, he was an absolute star on the other end of the floor.
Like Randolph, Allen would leave Memphis after the 2017 NBA season. He signed a one-year deal with the New Orleans Pelicans and remains a free agent heading into the 2018-19 NBA season. Also like Randolph, his No. 9 jersey will not be worn by another Grizzlies player and will be retired by the organization when he does call it a career. Allen is and will forever be “Grit and Grind”.