Today is the last day of the 2024 calendar year, and the Memphis Grizzlies have one last game before the new year with a matchup against the Phoenix Suns. The Grizzlies ended last season with a record of 27-55, including going 17-33 after the turn of the new year.
This season the Grizzlies are 22-11, bringing their total for the 2024 year to 39-44 before their last game against the Phoenix Suns. This year was a rocky one with a positive outlook for the Grizzlies, even down to the last day of the year, as they have at least eight players ruled out for their last game of 2024.
Status Report: @memgrizz at @Suns, December 31: pic.twitter.com/yaVP0tA34R
— Grizzlies PR (@GrizzliesPR) December 31, 2024
However, with most of those players expected back within the next month, and the cushion they have built with their early season success, the optimism for 2025 is high. Let's look back on some of the highs and lows of 2024.
Defeating the Lakers in Los Angeles
On January 5th, the Grizzlies played arguably their most complete game of the 2023-24 season with most of their rotation intact against a rival they have a tough time beating on the road. Coming off a frustrating home loss to the Toronto Raptors, the Grizzlies entered a three-game road trip with an 11-23 record looking to save their season.
They looked like a team that was on the verge of salvaging their season and making a run to the play-in tournament as Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, Marcus Smart, and Jaren Jackson Jr. all scored over 20 points in their win over the Lakers 127-113. That victory sparked a three-game road winning streak against the Lakers, Phoenix Suns, and Dallas Mavericks.
Ja Morant ruled out for the rest of the 2023-24 season
The Grizzlies' victory against the Lakers came at a cost as Ja Morant suffered a shoulder injury in a workout the morning after the game that turned out to be a torn labrum. He was ruled out for the rest of the season the day following the Grizzlies' victory over the Phoenix Suns on January 8th.
Beginning with that news, the Grizzlies suffered a string of injuries in consecutive games (similar to what's happening right now) with Marcus Smart suffering a broken finger the next night against the Dallas Mavericks. Desmond Bane suffered an ankle sprain their next game against the Los Angeles Clippers, followed by Jake LaRavia spraining his ankle the next night against the New York Knicks.
Marcus Smart missed the rest of the season and Desmond Bane returned to only play five games in what became a lost season for the Memphis Grizzlies.
GG Jackson's welcome to the NBA moment
A blessing in disguise came about from the Grizzlies' lost season with the rising of a potential star wing they drafted with the 45th overall pick in the second round of the 2023 NBA Draft. GG Jackson only played sparingly for the Grizzlies while on the two-way contract in the team's first 38 games before the aforementioned injuries.
In his first two games with real rotational minutes, GG Jackson scored 20 points in back-to-back games against the New York Knicks and Golden State Warriors on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. His 23 points, six rebounds, and four stock (steals and blocks) performance against the Warriors helped the Grizzlies pull off the holiday upset and he secured the postgame TNT interview.
GG jackson (youngest player in the NBA) gets the TNT interview after grizz W against the warriors and his reaction to hearing shaq address him is everything 🥹🥹🥹 pic.twitter.com/1I3l6bzzhI
— Molly Morrison (@mollyhannahm) January 16, 2024
He went on to average 14.6 points and 4.1 rebounds in 48 games, including scoring 44 points in the Grizzlies' regular season final against the Denver Nuggets and making the NBA All-Rookie Second Team. His performance brought light to a dim season and gave the Grizzlies hope for their wing position in the future.
Winning 14 out of 17 games
The Grizzlies quickly left behind a season of triumph with a disappointing 8-7 start amid injuries again, but considering they started 3-12 in somewhat the same predicament last season, there was promise. That promise quickly showed following a loss to the Denver Nuggets on November 19th.
The Grizzlies took advantage of a home-stacked slate to win 14 of their next 17 games including their biggest win of the season at the Boston Celtics on December 7th. That stretch has them in a position to overcome their current set of injuries in a season that has promise for them contending for an NBA title.