3 Memphis Grizzlies who could win league awards in 2021

The Memphis Grizzlies have a roster full of “almosts.” When I say that, I mean that the team has a handful of players who could have earned recognition for their performance in the 2020-21 season but didn’t. Let me give you an example.

In 2019-20, Kyle Anderson averaged 5.8 points, 0.8 steals, 2.4 assists, and 4.3 rebounds. It was a decent year, but the Grizzlies wouldn’t truly unlock his potential until the 2020-21 season when Anderson more than doubled his scoring output and increased his numbers in every statistical category. Here’s what his season looked like.

• 2020-21 Stats: 12.4 PPG, 1.2 SPG, 3.6 APG, 5.7 RPG, 36% 3PT (↑8%)

Memphis Grizzlies F Kyle Anderson became an objectively better player in 2020-21

Anderson didn’t just play more and increase his stats — he became a better basketball player. To put this into perspective, he increased his scoring averaged to over double what it was a season before with just a seven-minute per game increase in playing time. He shot the ball more, and he shot it more effectively.

This was well reflected by the 8% increase in his 3-point shooting percentage. The most exciting part? He increased his shooting percentage by that margin on a significantly higher volume of shots. He hoised up 3.8 3-point shots per game this past season. The closest before that? 1.3 per game, about a third of the total.

Despite all of this, Anderson seemingly wasn’t even considered for the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award, which went to Julius Randle. Granted, Randle took a huge step forward, but this is another example of a Grizzlies player being overlooked for an award.

Today, I’m going to explore three Grizzlies players who could break that mold in 2021.