The Memphis Grizzlies went from underrated and appreciated to a trash-talking and entitled team.
Yes, they’re fun to watch, and their youth could lead them to be the league’s next dynasty, but they need to earn their stripes before doing all that talking.
That’s why the Golden State Warriors refuse to admit that there’s a rivalry between them, even if they’ve faced them twice in key stages in the past couple of seasons.
If anything, it’s been more of the Grizzlies taking uncalled-for shots at the Warriors and clout-chasing, with the Dubs taking them out of the playoffs and firing back at them when poked.
Notably, that also seems to be Jay Williams’ opinion on the matter, as he went as far as to say that there are no rivalries in the league nowadays and that the Grizzlies need to do some winning before they can even talk about that.
I firmly believe this… as of right now, there are no rivalries in the @nba . Yes the @memgrizz & the @warriors don’t like each other but the Grizz have to start winning the games when it matter the most before I can say it’s a rivalry.
— Jay Williams (@RealJayWilliams) January 26, 2023
That’s similar to what Klay Thompson said of the Grizzlies’ brewing rivalry.
Per Thompson, their only rivalry was with the Cleveland Cavaliers of old, as they actually kept them from winning an NBA championship.
The Grizzlies currently have the second-best record in the West, and they look like the kind of team no one wants to face come playoff time.
But we’re talking about a generation of players who haven’t even reached the Western Conference Finals yet and comparing them to a team that has won four rings in six trips to the NBA Finals across eight years.
So yeah, there are levels to everything, and the Grizzlies have yet to prove themselves.
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