2023–24 Memphis Grizzlies season
NBA professional basketball team season
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The 2023–24 Memphis Grizzlies season was the 29th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and 23rd in Memphis, Tennessee.
| 2023–24 Memphis Grizzlies season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Taylor Jenkins |
| General manager | Zachary Kleiman |
| Owner | Robert Pera |
| Arena | FedExForum |
| Results | |
| Record | 27–55 (.329) |
| Place | Division: 4th (Southwest) Conference: 13th (Western) |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
Stats at Basketball Reference | |
| Local media | |
| Television | Bally Sports South Bally Sports Southeast |
| Radio | WMFS-FM |
The Grizzlies did not have Ja Morant for the first 25 games of the season (including the 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament period) as the NBA had suspended him for a second instance of being caught with holding a gun while being recorded on video for social media.[1][2] Steven Adams did not play for the Grizzlies before being traded to the Houston Rockets due to a PCL injury to his right knee.[3][4]
The Grizzlies lost their first six games to start the season and were the last team to win their first game, winning theirs on November 5, 2023. The team had a 6–19 record by the time Morant returned to play, but he would only play in nine games before he was ruled out for the remainder of the season on January 8 after suffering a labral tear in his right shoulder.[5] In addition to Morant and Adams, starter Desmond Bane and roster additions Marcus Smart and Derrick Rose also missed significant time due to injuries.[6][7] As many as thirteen of the Grizzlies' 18 rostered players were unable to play due to injuries, leading the NBA to grant the team three hardship roster spots just to make sure the team even had a playable bench at times.[8][9] In total, they ran out over 50 different starting lineups accounting for 33 different players suiting up while those not healthy missed a combined 592 games altogether.[10] It set a record for the most lineup combinations in league history since the 1970–71 season and broke their own team high of 28 players used in the 2015–16 season.[11][12] This would also be Derrick Rose's final NBA season before retiring on September 26, 2024, after 16 seasons.[13]
On March 21, 2024, the Memphis Grizzlies were eliminated from playoff contention for the first time since 2020 after their 137–116 loss to the Golden State Warriors.
The Memphis Grizzlies drew an average home attendance of 16,631 in 41 home games in the 2023-24 NBA season, the 28th highest in the league. The total attendance was 681,875.[14]
Draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College/Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25 | Marcus Sasser | SG/PG |  United States |
Houston (Sr.) |
| 2 | 45 | GG Jackson | PF/C | United States |
South Carolina (Fr.) |
| 2 | 56 | Tarik Biberović | SF/SG |  Bosnia and Herzegovina Turkey |
Fenerbahçe |
The Grizzlies had one first-round pick and two second-round picks entering the draft.[15] One of the second-round picks, which landed 45th, was acquired from the Minnesota Timberwolves via trade in 2022.[16]
GG Jackson, a former five-star recruit, fell to the second round and took advantage of ample opportunity amidst the team's injury woes. He was later recognized as the first player not yet in his twenties to be named to an All-Rookie Team who was also not a first-round pick.[17] Jackson's 14.6 points per game placed him 4th in the rookie class, buoyed by a highlight 44-point outburst on April 14 that was a franchise rookie record.[18]
Roster
| Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Head coach
Assistant(s)
Legend
Roster |
Standings
Division
| Southwest Division | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y – Dallas Mavericks | 50 | 32 | .610 | – | 25–16 | 25–16 | 11–5 | 82 |
| x – New Orleans Pelicans | 49 | 33 | .598 | 1.0 | 21–19 | 28–14 | 9–7 | 82 |
| Houston Rockets | 41 | 41 | .500 | 9.0 | 27–14 | 14–27 | 9–7 | 82 |
| Memphis Grizzlies | 27 | 55 | .329 | 23.0 | 9–32 | 18–23 | 8–8 | 82 |
| San Antonio Spurs | 22 | 60 | .268 | 28.0 | 12–29 | 10–31 | 3–13 | 82 |
Conference
| Western Conference | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | GP |
| 1 | c – Oklahoma City Thunder * | 57 | 25 | .695 | – | 82 |
| 2 | x – Denver Nuggets | 57 | 25 | .695 | – | 82 |
| 3 | x – Minnesota Timberwolves | 56 | 26 | .683 | 1.0 | 82 |
| 4 | y – Los Angeles Clippers * | 51 | 31 | .622 | 6.0 | 82 |
| 5 | y – Dallas Mavericks * | 50 | 32 | .610 | 7.0 | 82 |
| 6 | x – Phoenix Suns | 49 | 33 | .598 | 8.0 | 82 |
| 7 | x – New Orleans Pelicans | 49 | 33 | .598 | 8.0 | 82 |
| 8 | x – Los Angeles Lakers | 47 | 35 | .573 | 10.0 | 82 |
| 9 | pi – Sacramento Kings | 46 | 36 | .561 | 11.0 | 82 |
| 10 | pi – Golden State Warriors | 46 | 36 | .561 | 11.0 | 82 |
| 11 | Houston Rockets | 41 | 41 | .500 | 16.0 | 82 |
| 12 | Utah Jazz | 31 | 51 | .378 | 26.0 | 82 |
| 13 | Memphis Grizzlies | 27 | 55 | .329 | 30.0 | 82 |
| 14 | San Antonio Spurs | 22 | 60 | .268 | 35.0 | 82 |
| 15 | Portland Trail Blazers | 21 | 61 | .256 | 36.0 | 82 |
Game log
Preseason
| 2023 preseason game log Total: 2–3 (Home: 2–0; Road: 0–3) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Preseason: 2–3 (home: 2–0; road: 0–3)
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| 2023–24 preseason schedule | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Regular season
This became the first regular season where all the NBA teams competed in a mid-season tournament setting due to the implementation of the 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament.[19][20]
| 2023–24 game log Total: 27–55 (Home: 9–32; Road: 18–23) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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October: 0–4 (home: 0–3; road: 0–1)
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November: 4–9 (home: 1–5; road: 3–4)
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December: 6–9 (home: 1–4; road: 5–5)
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January: 8–7 (home: 3–4; road: 5–3)
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February: 2–10 (home: 2–6; road: 0–4)
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March: 4–11 (home: 1–6; road: 3–5)
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April: 3–4 (home: 1–3; road: 2–1)
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| 2023–24 season schedule | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In-Season Tournament
This was the first regular season where all the NBA teams competed in a mid-season tournament setting due to the implementation of the 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament.[19][20] During the in-season tournament period, the Grizzlies competed in Group A of the Western Conference, which included the Phoenix Suns, the Los Angeles Lakers, the Utah Jazz, and the Portland Trail Blazers. Throughout this period of time, they were without Ja Morant playing for them due to a suspension he had relating to another gun incident earlier in 2023, as well as without Steven Adams due to a season-ending injury. After three straight losses to the Trail Blazers, Jazz, and Lakers, the Grizzlies were automatically eliminated from in-season tournament contention, being the first team out at that time.
West group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Qualification | LAL | PHX | UTA | POR | MEM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Angeles Lakers | 4 | 4 | 0 | 494 | 420 | +74 | Advance to knockout stage | — | 122–119 | 131–99 | 107–95 | 134–107 | |
| 2 | Phoenix Suns | 4 | 3 | 1 | 480 | 446 | +34 | 119–122 | — | 131–128 | 120–107 | 110–89 | ||
| 3 | Utah Jazz | 4 | 2 | 2 | 469 | 482 | −13 | 99–131 | 128–131 | — | 115–99 | 127–121 | ||
| 4 | Portland Trail Blazers | 4 | 1 | 3 | 416 | 455 | −39 | 95–107 | 107–120 | 99–115 | — | 115–113 (OT) | ||
| 5 | Memphis Grizzlies | 4 | 0 | 4 | 430 | 486 | −56 | 107–134 | 89–110 | 121–127 | 113–115 (OT) | — |
Player statistics
Regular season
| Player | POS | GP | GS | MP | REB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS | MPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jaren Jackson Jr. | C | 66 | 66 | 2,124 | 365 | 154 | 80 | 106 | 1,486 | 32.2 | 5.5 | 2.3 | 1.2 | 1.6 | 22.5 |
| Santi Aldama | PF | 61 | 35 | 1,618 | 352 | 138 | 43 | 54 | 654 | 26.5 | 5.8 | 2.3 | .7 | .9 | 10.7 |
| John Konchar | SF | 55 | 23 | 1,173 | 257 | 110 | 51 | 51 | 235 | 21.3 | 4.7 | 2.0 | .9 | .9 | 4.3 |
| Vince Williams Jr. | SG | 52 | 33 | 1,436 | 290 | 175 | 47 | 34 | 521 | 27.6 | 5.6 | 3.4 | .9 | .7 | 10.0 |
| Ziaire Williams | SF | 51 | 15 | 1,038 | 180 | 75 | 36 | 9 | 420 | 20.4 | 3.5 | 1.5 | .7 | .2 | 8.2 |
| GG Jackson | PF | 48 | 18 | 1,233 | 196 | 59 | 28 | 24 | 699 | 25.7 | 4.1 | 1.2 | .6 | .5 | 14.6 |
| David Roddy† | PF | 48 | 13 | 1,114 | 200 | 76 | 25 | 11 | 403 | 23.2 | 4.2 | 1.6 | .5 | .2 | 8.4 |
| Desmond Bane | SG | 42 | 42 | 1,443 | 185 | 230 | 43 | 22 | 997 | 34.4 | 4.4 | 5.5 | 1.0 | .5 | 23.7 |
| Luke Kennard | SG | 39 | 22 | 999 | 113 | 136 | 20 | 2 | 429 | 25.6 | 2.9 | 3.5 | .5 | .1 | 11.0 |
| Jacob Gilyard† | PG | 37 | 14 | 654 | 43 | 131 | 27 | 5 | 173 | 17.7 | 1.2 | 3.5 | .7 | .1 | 4.7 |
| Jake LaRavia | PF | 35 | 6 | 806 | 128 | 58 | 29 | 12 | 379 | 23.0 | 3.7 | 1.7 | .8 | .3 | 10.8 |
| Xavier Tillman† | C | 34 | 13 | 700 | 157 | 57 | 42 | 35 | 204 | 20.6 | 4.6 | 1.7 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 6.0 |
| Bismack Biyombo† | C | 30 | 27 | 718 | 191 | 51 | 10 | 34 | 156 | 23.9 | 6.4 | 1.7 | .3 | 1.1 | 5.2 |
| Derrick Rose | PG | 24 | 7 | 399 | 45 | 78 | 8 | 2 | 191 | 16.6 | 1.9 | 3.3 | .3 | .1 | 8.0 |
| Trey Jemison† | C | 23 | 14 | 572 | 133 | 27 | 12 | 28 | 171 | 24.9 | 5.8 | 1.2 | .5 | 1.2 | 7.4 |
| Scotty Pippen Jr. | PG | 21 | 16 | 527 | 67 | 98 | 36 | 10 | 271 | 25.1 | 3.2 | 4.7 | 1.7 | .5 | 12.9 |
| Marcus Smart | PG | 20 | 20 | 605 | 53 | 86 | 41 | 5 | 289 | 30.3 | 2.7 | 4.3 | 2.1 | .3 | 14.5 |
| Lamar Stevens† | PF | 19 | 2 | 437 | 96 | 20 | 17 | 17 | 219 | 23.0 | 5.1 | 1.1 | .9 | .9 | 11.5 |
| Jordan Goodwin† | PG | 17 | 12 | 497 | 136 | 77 | 25 | 9 | 170 | 29.2 | 8.0 | 4.5 | 1.5 | .5 | 10.0 |
| Kenneth Lofton Jr.† | PF | 15 | 0 | 99 | 15 | 14 | 3 | 3 | 39 | 6.6 | 1.0 | .9 | .2 | .2 | 2.6 |
| Ja Morant | PG | 9 | 9 | 318 | 50 | 73 | 7 | 5 | 226 | 35.3 | 5.6 | 8.1 | .8 | .6 | 25.1 |
| Jaylen Nowell† | SG | 9 | 1 | 156 | 14 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 51 | 17.3 | 1.6 | 1.8 | .3 | .0 | 5.7 |
| DeJon Jarreau | SG | 9 | 0 | 150 | 44 | 26 | 6 | 2 | 43 | 16.7 | 4.9 | 2.9 | .7 | .2 | 4.8 |
| Matthew Hurt | PF | 8 | 0 | 113 | 16 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 32 | 14.1 | 2.0 | .5 | .4 | .4 | 4.0 |
| Mãozinha Pereira | SF | 7 | 1 | 122 | 37 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 48 | 17.4 | 5.3 | .3 | .9 | .6 | 6.9 |
| Zavier Simpson | PG | 7 | 0 | 161 | 20 | 25 | 7 | 3 | 42 | 23.0 | 2.9 | 3.6 | 1.0 | .4 | 6.0 |
| Brandon Clarke | PF | 6 | 1 | 134 | 32 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 68 | 22.3 | 5.3 | 1.5 | .8 | 1.0 | 11.3 |
| Timmy Allen | SF | 5 | 0 | 125 | 17 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 13 | 25.0 | 3.4 | 1.0 | .8 | .0 | 2.6 |
| Yuta Watanabe† | SF | 5 | 0 | 82 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 16.4 | 1.8 | 1.0 | .6 | .0 | 2.6 |
| Wenyen Gabriel | PF | 5 | 0 | 81 | 25 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 17 | 16.2 | 5.0 | .6 | .4 | .4 | 3.4 |
| Tosan Evbuomwan† | SF | 4 | 0 | 74 | 14 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 18.5 | 3.5 | 1.5 | .0 | .3 | 2.5 |
| Jack White | SF | 4 | 0 | 64 | 12 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 16.0 | 3.0 | .3 | 1.0 | .3 | 1.5 |
| Shaquille Harrison | SG | 3 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | .7 | .0 | .0 | .3 | .7 |
- † Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Grizzlies only.
Transactions
Trades
| June 23, 2023[21] | To Memphis Grizzlies Marcus Smart (from Boston) |
To Boston Celtics Kristaps Porziņģis (from Washington) Draft rights to Marcus Sasser (No. 25) (from Memphis) 2024 GSW first-round pick (from Memphis) |
| To Washington Wizards Tyus Jones (from Memphis) Danilo Gallinari (from Boston) Mike Muscala (from Boston) Draft rights to Julian Phillips (No. 35) (from Boston) | ||
| July 8, 2023[22][23] | To Memphis Grizzlies Josh Christopher (from Houston) |
To Oklahoma City Thunder Patty Mills (from Houston) 2024 HOU second-round pick 2029 HOU second-round pick 2030 HOU second-round pick |
| To Atlanta Hawks Usman Garuba (from Houston) TyTy Washington Jr. (from Houston) Two future second-round picks (from Houston) Cash considerations (from Oklahoma City) |
To Los Angeles Clippers Kenyon Martin Jr. (from Houston) | |
| To Houston Rockets Dillon Brooks (from Memphis) Two future second-round picks (from LA Clippers) Draft rights to Alpha Kaba (from Atlanta) | ||
| July 11, 2023[24] | To Memphis Grizzlies Isaiah Todd Two future first-round pick swaps |
To Phoenix Suns Three future second-round picks |
Free agency
Additions
| Player | Signed | Former team | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Derrick Rose | July 3 | New York Knicks | [25] |