Former Memphis Grizzlies great Shane Battier recently made an appearance on the Just Grizzlies Podcast from Grind City Media’s Kelcey Wright Johnson. Battier is universally well-liked and consistently ranks near the top of everyone’s all-time favorite Grizzlies players.
Listening to the podcast got me thinking — Battier is just one of several players who have worn a Grizzlies jersey and later won an NBA championship. The Grizzlies are one of the youngest franchises in the NBA. The team was founded in 1995 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and lasted six seasons before relocating to Memphis, Tenn.
While the Grizzlies have never made it to the NBA Finals — let alone won a championship — the franchise has some notable alumni that have held the famous Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy with other teams.
The list includes some of the greatest players to ever put on the Beale Street blue jerseys and some players you may have forgotten ever suited up for the Grizzlies.
These former Memphis Grizzlies helped the Heat, Lakers, and Raptors win titles.
For this exercise, we won’t be counting players that won a championship with a team and then played for the Grizzlies. So, you won’t see players like Chris Andersen, who won a championship with the Miami Heat in 2013 and played for the Grizzlies in 2016, or Byron Scott, who won three championships with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1985, 1987, and 1988 and played for the Grizzlies in the inaugural 1995-1996 season.
Can you name some of the players? Let’s find out.