The Memphis Grizzlies are one of the league’s better teams. Not only do they have multiple All-Star talents, those players have taken them as far as the Western Conference Semifinals. At the same time, they haven’t secured elite status just yet. Thus, they’re left with three burning questions as they prepare for the 2025-26 season.
3 Burning Questions For Grizzlies Heading Into 2025-26 Season
Are They Really Better?
When the Grizzlies opted to kick off their offseason by trading Desmond Bane to the Orlando Magic, the return on investment initially seemed to favor them. For one, there was a growing feeling that Bane’s time with the organization would end sooner rather than later. Furthermore, the Magic were willing to trade four first-round picks for a player without an All-Star label.
Yet, there’s no doubt that Bane’s exceeded expectations since being drafted 30th overall in 2020. After all, he ranks in the top-25 in career 3-point percentage (.410) with a career scoring average of 17.8 points per game. In 2023-24, when face of the franchise Ja Morant was limited to nine games, Bane averaged career-highs of 23.7 points and 5.5 assists per contest.
Essentially, he’s been replaced by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Cedric Coward. Along with Cole Anthony, who was eventually bought out of his contract, Caldwell-Pope was one of the players that Memphis received from Orlando in the Bane deal. Coward was selected 11th overall after the Grizzlies used the 16th overall pick, which they also acquired for moving Bane, to move up in the 2025 NBA Draft.
This swap should lead to a significant improvement in Memphis’s point-of-attack defense on the perimeter. Nevertheless, Bane left them big shoes to fill offensively.
Year 2 Zach Edey
In 2024-25, Grizzlies center Zach Edey entered the season as the Rookie of the Year favorite. Not only is he a very large man, he left college as a two-time AP Player of the Year. Furthermore, with big men like Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic and Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid at the height of their powers, he seemed to be coming into the league at the right time.
Grizzlies former head coach Taylor Jenkins must have had a different plan. Overhauling his offensive system in the offseason, he wanted to play a pace-and-space game that required Edey to shed pounds and shoot 3s. That being said, it’s not that his plan didn’t work, as the Grizzlies were winning many games handily. Nonetheless, the player they just spent the eighth overall pick on didn’t get maximized.
Once Tuomas Iisalo replaced Jenkins, Edey was much more dominant. This was in large part due to Iisalo emphasizing the pick-and-roll. Moved back into the first unit for the last eight games of the regular season, the 7-foot-4 giant averaged a near double-double with 9.3 points and 13.4 rebounds per game, shooting 64.6 percent from the field. He also averaged 1.8 blocks per game.
Edey is currently recovering from an ankle surgery and is in danger of missing the 2025-26 season opener. When he returns, the hope is that he’ll look like he did just after Iisalo took over, but even sharper.
Is This Ja Morant’s Redemption Year?
Over the past three seasons, Morant has often been in the news for reasons outside of basketball.
Late in 2022-23, a number of gun-related incidents and allegations put a target on his back. He was suspended in-season by the league in March and then earned a lengthier, 25-game suspension from the league in June. In 2023-24, Morant started the season off serving that second suspension, causing him to miss the first two months of the season.
In that time, the Grizzlies went just 6-19, putting them behind the eight-ball rather early. No matter what one thought of why he was suspended, the inconsistently contrite Morant’s behavior couldn’t be separated from their win-loss record. To make matters worse, he only played in nine game before undergoing a season-ending shoulder surgery.
Last season was supposed to be his redemption year. He was healthy and presumably more mature. Yet, prior to the All-Star Break, Morant was averaging 20.7 points per game. That’s fine in a vacuum but disappointing when he averaged 26.2 points per game in his last healthy season. Additionally, he all but refused to slam it home. In fact, by the end of the season, he had recorded just 17 dunks.
Like Edey, Morant seemed to turn the corner after Iisalo’s promotion. In the seven games that he played under Iisalo, he averaged an impressive 28.4 points per contest. With that being said, if Morant stay relatively healthy and can keep his antics to a minimum while lighting up the nets like that, his reputation will do a 180. Maybe that’s a lot to ask, but it’s not impossible.
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