Entering his fourth year in the NBA, Vince Williams Jr. appears to be at a crossroads with the Memphis Grizzlies' organization. After showing potential defensive vibes previously displayed by former Grizzlies players such as Dillon Brooks and Tony Allen during the 2023-24 season, he was expected to be a key rotational player last season.
However, a training camp injury to his left tibia took him out for the first month of last season. Then, three games after he returned, he left again with a high ankle sprain that he never fully recovered from throughout the rest of the regular season, which saw him in an end-of-the-bench role with spot minutes after missing over two months.
The Grizzlies have made a myriad of moves at the positions Williams Jr. plays to signal the writing on the wall for his future. However, with two years left of his contract, he has one last chance to prove he belongs in the team's playing rotation moving forward.
Vince Williams Jr. must overcome his injury history
After being selected with the 47th overall pick of the 2022 NBA Draft by the Memphis Grizzlies, the 6'4" Vince Williams Jr. was signed to a two-way contract as a developmental 3-and-D wing. Including undrafted big man Kenneth Lofton Jr., the Grizzlies had five rookies entering the organization that season, and now Williams Jr. is the only remaining member from that class that is still in the organization.
His rookie season only saw him play 22 total games between the Grizzlies and their G League affiliate, the Memphis Hustle. However, his summer league performance in 2023 allowed him to jump ahead of their young wing rotation pack once his number was called in a November 2023 game against the Boston Celtics.
His playing time remained inconsistent for a couple of weeks before he got playing time with the return of Ja Morant from suspension and Marcus Smart from injury. After injuries ended the seasons of Morant, Smart, and Desmond Bane in January 2024, Williams Jr. looked like a future rotation player and secured a four-year, $7.9 million contract on January 10, 2024.
However, he suffered a season-ending knee injury in March 2024, which began his bad injury luck that remained throughout all of last season. Now, the team has added Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Ty Jerome, Cedric Coward, and Cam Spencer to a guard/wing rotation with the already included players that surpassed Williams Jr. last season in Scotty Pippen Jr. and Jaylen Wells.
The Grizzlies organization has made it known by their moves that they can't wait for Williams Jr.'s development. However, he still has an opportunity to prove that the player he showed he could be during the 2023-24 season wasn't a fluke, but he must first get some luck on his side in the injury department.