What winning a summer league championship would mean for the Memphis Grizzlies

The Memphis Grizzlies will take on the Houston Rockets in the 2026 NBA Summer League semifinals on Saturday.

Memphis is 3-1 so far in the Las Vegas portion of summer league, including two straight blowout victories over the Golden State Warriors and Atlanta Hawks. If Memphis advances to the championship, it will be its second summer league championship game appearance in the past three years. The Grizzlies lost to the Miami Heat in overtime in the 2024 championship game.

SUMMER GRIZZ STATEMENT!!!

That was the greatest quarter in summer league history hahahhaa pic.twitter.com/XeYCsQN2Eq
— Chris Vernon (@ChrisVernonShow) July 17, 2026

The last time Memphis won the summer league title was in 2019 behind rookie Brandon Clarke, who received MVP honors. Ja Morant, who the Grizzlies selected No. 2 overall that summer, did not play due to a knee injury.

Memphis followed up that summer performance with a much-improved regular season. After a 33-49 record in 2018-19, the Grizzlies finished 2019-20 at 34-39 and earned a birth in the Western Conference Play-In Tournament. Clarke built off a strong summer with first-team All-Rookie honors.

Individual player development in summer league is always the highest priority, and Memphis has used the summer to sharpen skills on notable players like Desmond Bane and now Cedric Coward by playing them on the ball more often.

Bane played in the 2021 summer league primarily at point guard to develop his ball-handling and playmaking feel. He followed that up with a 2021-22 campaign that saw his PPG go from 9.2 to 18.2. His shot volume also increased from 7.3 attempts per game to 14.5.

Memphis is hoping for similar results with Coward, who has made it a priority this summer to play with the ball and shoot more than he did during his rookie season.

Cedric Coward was efficient for the Grizzlies tonight 👏

23 PTS (10 in 3Q)
7-12 FGM

Coward and Memphis secure their spot in the NBA Summer League Semis with the win over Atlanta! pic.twitter.com/MQEH557DxI
— NBA (@NBA) July 17, 2026

Winning a championship would be valuable in boosting the confidence of players like Coward, Olivier-Maxence Prosper, Taylor Hendricks and Javon Small, who are carrying increased roles during the summer league. If those players take home a championship while playing in featured roles like they are, it could pay dividends down the road.

It obviously contributes to the development of Cameron Boozer as well. A championship is pure proof-of-concept that Boozer can gel with his teammates. One of the Duke product's redeeming qualities is his track record as a winning player. His first taste of the NBA resulting in a championship should make the Grizzlies feel even better about the pick than they probably already do.

The Charlotte Hornets won the 2025 summer league title, and it turned into another example of a team's summer performance catapulting it into a much-improved regular season. Charlotte finished 44-38 in 2025-26 after failing to reach 30 wins in each of the previous three seasons. Rookie Kon Knueppel, who was the MVP of the 2025 summer league championship game, was an integral part of the Hornets' success in the regular season.

Winning a summer league title obviously does not mean the most in the grand scheme of things, but it can provide a huge confidence boost to young players and set the tone for the culture Memphis is trying to build as it rebuilds the roster.

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