The Grizzlies Are Clearly Poised For A Monster Bounce Back Season After Deciding To Bring Back Their Classic Vancouver Grizzlies Throwbacks
Sam Forencich. Getty Images.There are no two ways about it, 2023-24 was a season from hell for the Memphis Grizzlies. Injuries to basically every rotation player, Ja's suspension, and then his ensuing injury as soon as he came back, it was all a disaster that I'm sure they and their fans very much want to forget. From 51 wins and a 2 seed in 2022-23 to 27 wins and a 13 seed last year as a result of all those injuries, that's tough.
Heading into this season, outside of GG Jackson (broken foot), the Grizzlies are healthy and poised for a monster bounce-back season. Ja Morant is healthy and ready to go
Marcus Smart is healthy and ready to go, Brandon Clarke is back and they drafted Zach Edey who showed flashes in Summer League and could very well end up winning ROY in what should be a wide-open race. Remember, this is a team with top-seed talent who possesses an elite defense that is going to be crashing the Western Conference party, and there's no reason to not believe they won't be in the mix again this year as long as they don't get absolutely destroyed by injuries for the second straight season.
There's also this to consider. In one of the best decisions any franchise has made this offseason, they're bringing back the white version of their Vancouver Grizzlies days
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10 out of 10, no notes. Sure this is probably twisting the knife for those in Vancouver who miss their Grizzlies, but for the rest of us? Love the move. We've seen the teal version of this jersey over the years, but I'm pretty sure this is the first time we're getting the white jersey and it absolutely plays. The old-school jersey design, the clean ass court, it's all perfect
It is a bit unfair because the Grizzlies 90s throwbacks are easily some of the best in the league, but every time a team releases an updated version of their throwbacks I never understand why more don't follow suit. It also makes the Nike City Edition jerseys even more embarrassing if you ask me. People love nostalgia! It's such a money-making layup that it makes no sense why every single team in the league doesn't do this. Sure they may not be the Grizzlies or Raptors level of throwback, but who cares? It's way better than what we're getting from Nike when it comes to City/Classic Editions anyway when they try to be creative and make something new, so credit the Grizzlies for getting this right.
As they say, "look good play good" and there arguably won't be a fresher jersey/court combo in the NBA this season than this. Considering the Grizzlies are looking for a big bounce-back season, I see this as something that can only help. Can it help their 3P% that ranked 29th in the NBA last season? I don't see why not. Will it help JJJ play with size and actually rebound? In theory it could. The better they look and the better they feel, the better the product on the court should be.
The Grizzlies were already going to be fun as hell to watch this season now that everyone is back to being healthy, but now that we add this look and court to the mix I'm willing to bump them up a few spots.