Before the Grizzlies were swept by the defending NBA Champion, the Oklahoma City Thunder, in the first round of the playoffs last season, they suffered playoff losing fates to two of the NBA's premier franchises. The Golden State Warriors ended the Grizzlies' season in a six-game second-round series in 2022, and the Los Angeles Lakers ended the Grizzlies' season in a six-game first-round series in 2023.
Both series led to the Grizzlies and their fan base creating a rivalry with opponents they felt they needed to overcome to win the franchise's first championship. Each team features an all-time great player in Stephen Curry for the Warriors and LeBron James for the Lakers, whom Ja Morant seems to take his game to another level against every time they match up.
However, after facing the Warriors and Lakers four times during the regular season last year, including twice in Memphis in each of the previous two seasons, Grizzlies fans will only get a chance to root against their rivals once this season.
Grizzlies fans have to make the most of their only chances to see LeBron and Steph
Technically, the Grizzlies could garner another opportunity to see at least one of the Lakers or Warriors at home due to the NBA Cup schedule quirk of additional games in December. Last season, the Grizzlies and Lakers were only scheduled for three matchups (two in Memphis), but the fourth game was added at Los Angeles after the NBA Cup tournament was set.
Typically, the Warriors and Lakers matchups constitute the highest ticket traffic for Grizzlies games every season due to the stardom of Stephen Curry and LeBron James. Those matchups even tend to become a split with the fans as Warriors and Lakers fans nearly outnumber the Grizzlies' fans in attendance at the FedExForum.
Despite that reality, it still hurts the fans of all parties to only get one opportunity to see those teams play in Memphis this season. The Lakers will play their only game in Memphis on Halloween, and the Warriors will make their only visit on February 25th. There has even been chatter of LeBron James potentially playing his final season this year, which would be a bummer to the Memphis fans if that becomes the case.
The NBA schedule rotates yearly as teams are only guaranteed to play their division four times and most of the opposite conference three times. The unfortunate reality for the Grizzlies fans is that their home slate will look a lot different this season, with only one matchup each against their West rivals.