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NBA Experts Predict Grizzlies' 2025-26 Record After Blockbuster Trade

The Memphis Grizzlies got their crystal ball prediction from ESPN for next season with still one month until the beginning of training camp.
Matt Guzman|
Apr 15, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (12) shoots a free throw against the Golden State Warriors in the second quarter at the Chase Center.
Apr 15, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (12) shoots a free throw against the Golden State Warriors in the second quarter at the Chase Center. | Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

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Memphis Grizzlies

The Memphis Grizzlies will head into the 2025-26 regular season looking slightly different.

After trading away Desmond Bane in a deal for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony, and first-round draft capital, Ja Morant and Co. are in a position to continue building over the next several seasons. According to ESPN's latest predictions, they may not be as strong as they were a season ago.

Memphis is predicted to finish the season 42-40, good for the final spot in the Western Conference Play-In Tournament.

ESPN Predicts Grizzlies' Season Record

The Grizzlies finished the 2024-25 season with a 48-34 record before suffering a first-round playoff exit against the Oklahoma City Thunder. After making some offseason changes, headlined by their Bane trade, they are projected to get worse.

Simply put, ESPN doesn't have immense faith in Memphis.

"The Spurs and Grizzlies appear to be trending in different directions," the site wrote, ranking the Spurs just ahead of the Grizzlies in a tie with the Dallas Mavericks. "San Antonio is stepping into the third season of its patient rebuild around Victor Wembanyama. The Spurs won 22 and 34 games in his first two seasons. This season, our projections anticipate them taking a larger leap into the 40s."

Where does that leave Memphis? Apparently missing Bane.

"The Grizzlies, meanwhile, traded one of their core players this summer (Desmond Bane) for a draft pick package," ESPN continued, "a move that could signify the franchise is readying for a step back."

The Grizzlies aren't so sold.

Bane played a large role in Memphis since joining the team following the COVID-19 bubble, including during a postseason run when it secured the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference before being eliminated by the Los Angeles Lakers.

And while the guard was certainly the most expendable player of Memphis' core, there isn't much belief that trading him will lead to a franchise reset, even with Tuomas Iisalo set to spend his first season as an NBA coach in the fall.

If anything, reaching the Play-In Tournament with a chance to be included among the eight advancing teams would be a win. The Grizzlies just have to get there first.

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Matt Guzman
MATT GUZMAN

Matt Guzman is a sports journalist and storyteller from Austin, Texas. He serves as a credentialed reporter and site manager for San Antonio Spurs On SI and a staff writer for multiple collegiate sites in the same network. In the world of professional sports, he is a firm believer that athletes are people, too, and intends to tell stories of players and teams’ true, behind-the-scenes character that otherwise would not be seen through strong narrative writing, hooking ledes and passionate words.

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