Memphis Grizzlies’ ties to the 2020 NBA Finals

The Memphis Grizzlies have a few direct and indirect connections to the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers.

Another NBA Finals series is upon us — another that does not involve the Memphis Grizzlies.

By recent (and historic) franchise standards, the Grizzlies’ 25th anniversary season was a success. Memphis is rebuilding and wasn’t supposed to contend for a playoff spot in 2020, but Rookie of the Year point guard Ja Morant and rookie head coach Taylor Jenkins led the team to the Western Conference postseason play-in miniseries.

The Grizzlies didn’t come close to the NBA Finals, however, and their 25-year streak of not playing for the NBA championship continues.

Memphis lost the play-in series to the Portland Trail Blazers, who went on to face the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round. The Lakers eliminated Portland and steamrolled to the Finals, where they’ll face the Miami Heat.

While the Grizzlies aren’t in the Finals, they do have some connections to the Finals. Between the Lakers and Heat are a few former Grizzlies, a few players who were almost Grizzlies, some players who made history against the Grizzlies, and a coach who is an important figure in Grizzlies’ lore.

Here are the Grizzlies’ ties to the 2020 NBA Finals:

Miami Heat

Andre Iguodala — The Golden State Warriors traded Iguodala to the Grizzlies last summer. Uninterested in playing for a projected lottery team after winning three championships in five years with the Warriors, the 2015 Finals MVP reached an agreement to stay home until Memphis traded him to a contender.

In February, the Grizzlies worked out a three-way trade with the Heat and the Minnesota Timberwolves. Memphis received Justice Winslow, Gorgui Dieng and Dion Waiters in the deal. Iguodala was sent to Miami, where he’s reprised his Golden State role as a valuable two-way weapon off the bench.

Jae Crowder — Crowder came to Memphis from Utah in 2019 as part of the Mike Conley Jr. trade, then Crowder left Memphis for Miami in 2020 as part of the Iguodala trade.

Unlike Iguodala, though, Crowder actually played for the Grizzlies and played well. The noted defensive stopper started in all of his 45 games for Memphis, averaging 9.9 points and 6.2 rebounds. Crowder posted 27 points (six 3-pointers), eight rebounds, seven assists, three steals and three blocks in a Jan. 4 win over the LA Clippers, and hit a buzzer-beater to defeat the Brooklyn Nets on Oct. 27.

Crowder has been a starter in each of Miami’s playoff games.

Solomon Hill — The third member of the Grizzlies to get traded to the Heat in the Iguodala deal, Hill played a half-season for Memphis in 2019-20. He was traded to the Grizzlies from the New Orleans Pelicans last summer.

Hill played 48 games for the Grizzlies, averaging 5.7 points and 3.0 rebounds off the bench. His peak was a 22-point, 6-rebound, 3-steal effort against the Indiana Pacers on Dec. 2.

ORLANDO, FL – DECEMBER 11: Assistant coach Lionel Hollins of the Los Angeles Lakers before the game against the Orlando Magic at the Amway Center on December 11, 2019 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images)

Los Angeles Lakers

LeBron James — The greatest near-miss in Grizzlies’ history is coming one lottery ball away from landing LeBron James in the 2003 NBA Draft.

The Grizzlies and the Cleveland Cavaliers were the two teams at the top (or bottom, depending on how you look at it) of the lottery. The Cavs got the No. 1 pick, and the Grizzlies got the No. 2 pick. But Memphis had to hand their prize over to the Detroit Pistons, per the conditions of a 1997 trade in which the Vancouver Grizzlies acquired former All-Star forward Otis Thorpe. If the Grizzlies had landed the No. 1 pick, however, it would’ve been protected. So the Grizzlies could’ve taken LeBron. At No. 2, it wasn’t protected, and the Pistons used it on Darko Milicic.

Seventeen years later, LeBron has had a number of great games against the Grizzlies. The first 30-point game of his career came against Memphis, when he scored 33 in a double-overtime loss early in his rookie season. Pau Gasol outdueled LeBron on that night with 37 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks for the Grizzlies.

Early in LeBron’s first year with the Heat, the Grizzlies handed him a loss when Rudy Gay hit a buzzer-beater over LeBron.

Dwight Howard — Like Iguodala, Howard was traded to the Grizzlies and never played a game for the team before moving on to his next destination. It didn’t take Howard long at all to make his Memphis exit. The Washington Wizards sent Howard to the Grizzlies on July 6, 2019. The Grizzlies waived the future Hall of Fame center on August 24. He then signed with the Lakers and has gone on to become a vital piece of their rotation going into the NBA Finals.

Avery Bradley — Bradley only played 14 games with the Grizzlies in 2018-19, but in that short stretch he produced the highest-scoring game of his NBA career.

The Clippers traded Bradley to Memphis midway through the season for JaMychal Green and Garrett Temple. In just his second game with the Grizzlies, Bradley dropped 33 points against the San Antonio Spurs, which remains his career-high.

In his Grizzlies tenure, Bradley averaged 16.1 points and 4.0 assists per game. The Grizzlies let him go this past offseason. Bradley was a regular starter for the Lakers, but when the NBA season resumed following the COVID-19 hiatus, he opted not to join the team in the league “bubble.” If the Lakers win a championship, however, he’ll probably receive a ring.

Dion Waiters — A late-season roster addition, Waiters has played sparingly for the Lakers in their run to the Finals. He played even less for the Grizzlies. Seemingly on the verge of stardom with the Heat a couple of years ago, Waiters fell off the map in Miami and was traded to the Grizzlies on Feb. 6 of this year. He was waived by the Grizzlies on Feb. 9 without playing a game.

Anthony Davis — If there was any doubt about Davis being able to thrive in L.A. this season, it was erased on Oct. 29, in his fourth game with the team. Against the Grizzlies, Davis posted 40 points and 20 rebounds in only 30 minutes. He didn’t even play during the fourth quarter of the Lakers’ blowout win. According to Elias Sports Bureau, Davis became the first player in NBA history to post at least 40 points and 20 boards in 32 minutes or less. He also set a Lakers franchise record in that game with 26 made free throws.

Lionel Hollins — The most successful head coach in Grizzlies’ history is currently an assistant for the Lakers. Hollins was the Grizzlies’ interim coach two times — once in Vancouver for 60 games in 1999-2000, and once in Memphis for four games in 2004 — before he was officially named head coach in  2009.

Hollins led Memphis to the playoffs three times. He was there when the 8th-seeded Grizzlies upset the No. 1 seed Spurs in 2011. He was there when the Grizzlies made it to the Western Conference Finals in 2013 (losing to the Spurs). He racked up 214 regular-season wins and 18 playoff wins for the Grizzlies, the most in franchise history.