Despite being a small market team, the Grizzlies have had some strong players. Who have been the best in this team’s short history?
You’ll be hard-pressed to find a team in a small market like Memphis that has seen the level of success that we have as a fanbase. While there haven’t been any conference titles or NBA Championships, 10 playoff appearances since the turn of the century for the Grizzlies can attest to that.
But even though the Grizzlies have found some success, they haven’t necessarily been the flashiest squad. They’ve put together strong teams with great coaching and even better upper management, giving them prolonged success that you rarely see in professional sports. The last couple of years are a perfect example of this: a team with low expectations that continually improves and competes at a high level.
The staff in Memphis has done an incredible job of squeezing every ounce of talent out of players on their team. This will show on my list, as you may see a handful of extremely underrated guys honored on here.
Another calling card of the Memphis Grizzlies is dominance down low. Grizzlies rosters have been highlighted by some of the most intimidating big men in the game and some great defensive talent throughout the years, but that doesn’t mean that you won’t see any elite scorers on this list. Some of the names you’ll see on here might just surprise you.
And as things go with any NBA team, Memphis has been the home of some true NBA stars since the franchise’s inception. There are a plethora of players on this list who may see an appearance in the Hall of Fame when their career is over. For just a quarter-century of history, the Grizzlies have put together a pretty impressive top ten.
Here are the 10 greatest Grizzlies of all time.
10. Jason Williams
Jason Williams was one of the flashiest players in the league, something that you don’t often see in the city of Memphis. He was arguably the best passer in the history of this franchise and a solid scorer as well. If he had spent more than four years with the Grizzlies, he may have found himself higher on this list.
9. Mike Miller
Mike Miller is probably best remembered for his time with the Miami Heat. But before that, Miller was one of the greatest scorers that we’ve seen on this team. He scored over 13 points per game in every season that he was with Memphis, dropping over 18 per game in 2006-2007. He’s still remembered as one of the best shooters in the league.
8. Rudy Gay
Rudy Gay is another guy who is a prototypical Grizzlies player. He was never named among the best players in the league, but did everything right that can’t be quantified. He was a great defender alongside Tony Allen, a guy that we’ll talk about later in this list.
7. Ja Morant
I wasn’t completely sure where I should place Ja Morant on this list or if he should even appear at all. Morant is a lethal scorer, explosive athlete, and strong passer. Barring any sort of injury disaster or unexpected trade, Morant is on track to finish his career as the greatest Grizzly of all time. Even if he doesn’t belong on this list now, he will soon.
6. Tony Allen
For a long time, Tony Allen was considered one of the best defenders in the league. He proved this by earning NBA All-Defensive Team honors six times, three with the first team and three with the second team. The only reason that he isn’t higher on this list is because his offense was lackluster at best. He only averaged double digit points once, and he was not with the Grizzlies that year.
5. Mike Conley
Mike Conley was the face of the Memphis Grizzlies for over a decade. He was a strong scorer and capable passer, and his defensive abilities were a perfect fit for the Grizzlies throughout the decade that he was with the team. He had multiple seasons in which he averaged over 2 steals per game and finished out his career with a 21-point per game farewell tour.
4. Pau Gasol
Pau Gasol would find himself higher on this list, but he only played with the Grizzlies for the first five years of his career. That being said, he established himself as one of the league’s premier big men quickly, scoring over 17 points in each season during his half decade with the team. He also tacked on at least a block and a half per contest, proving himself to be another great defender in Memphis.
3. Shareef Abdur-Rahim
Shareef Abdur-Rahim is unique to the rest of this list in that he played the entirety of his career with the Grizzlies in the city of Vancouver. Even though this was a brand new franchise, he would instantly establish himself as one of the stars of the NBA. After his rookie season, he averaged over 20 points in each of his remaining four seasons in Vancouver. He wasn’t just a scorer either; he lit up every stat on the sheet, including blocks, steals, assists, and rebounds. He is easily the most well-rounded player in this franchise’s history.
2. Marc Gasol
The second Gasol brother on this list didn’t quite earn the top spot, but he has a strong argument for it. Marc Gasol was a complete basketball player. He was the perfect modern big man; a guy who can score, pass, shoot, and play strong defense. The big guy is averaging 14.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks in his career. He could have gone down as the greatest Grizzly of all time if he had stayed in Memphis longer.
1. Zach Randolph
Zach Randolph is the most efficient player in the history of a team that prides itself on player efficiency. He was an excellent defender with one of the most intimidating presences down low that the NBA has ever seen. He was a guy that other teams hated to come up against. Randolph set the bar for what it means to be a Grizzly through sheer force and power. In his prime, he averaged over 20 points and 12 boards, establishing himself as the most dominant Grizzly player ever.
As a side note, success from a Michigan State power forward in Randolph may have given the Grizzlies extra incentive to draft two Spartan big men in the last 3 drafts.