Understandably, there is skepticism surrounding the Grizzlies so early in their rebuild, especially outside of Memphis. This past season they went just 25-57 and have traded both Jaren Jackson Jr. and Ja Morant since the start of the new year. But now, the Grizzlies enter a new era led by third overall pick Cam Boozer, and not many seem to believe in them early on.
This week, Brad Botkin of CBS Sports did a new set of power rankings not long after LeBron James signed with the 76ers. Grizzlies fans will not be happy with where he had the Grizzlies. Even though the Grizzlies are early in a rebuild, they still have promising pieces in Cam Boozer, Cedric Coward, and Zach Edey. Still, that did not stop the Grizzlies from being ranked as the 27th best team in the NBA.
To add more context, that ranking put the Grizzlies as the second worst team in the Western Conference, ahead of just the Sacramento Kings.
"There are a lot of exciting developmental cases in there, and time to let the development happen with a lot of draft capital at Memphis' disposal. The Grizzlies won't be good this season, but they have turned a bleak situation into a pretty promising one, starting with the draft hauls they got for Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. and continuing with the drafting of Boozer." - Brad Botkin, CBS Sports
Botkin gave the Grizzlies plenty of praise for their offseason moves, but it doesn't make sense as to why the team is still as low as #27 in the power rankings.
The Grizzlies have a great chance to prove themselves this season
Now, I'm not saying that the Grizzlies should instantly be one of the best teams in the Western Conference so early into their rebuild. But many things would have to go wrong for the Grizzlies to be the second worst team in the conference. Every year brings different circumstances, and more teams will look to compete this season instead of prioritizing draft position.
But the fact the Grizzlies won 25 games despite one of the worst injury situations in the NBA last season shouldn't be brushed off. Ja Morant, Ty Jerome, and Scotty Pippen Jr. played in just a combined 45 total games, and Zach Edey only appeared in 11 games. Plus, Jaren Jackson Jr., a multiple-time All-Star, was traded before the deadline, which impacted the win total.
Even with Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. out of the mix now, the Grizzlies still have plenty of promising pieces. Cedric Coward and Zach Edey should make winning plays this season, and they just selected Cam Boozer third overall in a stacked 2026 NBA Draft. They also added solid veterans such as Isaiah Stewart and Jerami Grant around their young core of players.
The Grizzlies will need to be healthy, but they should end up being competitive in most games this season. Even if they fall slightly short of the playoffs, the team is more than capable of a strong play-in tournament push and finishing well above the 14th seed in the West. If relatively healthy, it would be a great surprise if the Grizzlies' win total isn't at least in the mid-30s.
There is nothing wrong with having skeptics early in the Grizzlies rebuild. But based on the current state of the roster and Western Conference, ranking the Grizzlies 27th in the power rankings feels dangerously low. The Grizzlies find themselves in the perfect spot to turn doubters into believers early in their rebuild.
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