The brawling Grizzlies’ bad boy arc is just the antidote to NBA blandness

N BA rivalries used to be about something: an exclusive claim to hoops supremacy, intra-divisional beefs, a perceived lack of respect. But it’s been hard to keep up those grudges during an era in which players come into the league as childhood pals, move teams constantly and barely play defense against one another. Nowadays only one team keeps the others on edge, and it’s the Memphis Grizzlies. Everybody hates them.

Their bad boy arc starts with a classic betrayal. In summer 2019 the Grizzlies were part of a three-team swap that brought Andre Iguodala to Memphis. Iguodala is the gold standard for NBA glue guys, a former finals MVP who remains valuable as an unofficial player-coach and clutch contributor despite his advanced age. But when he balked at filling that same role for a rebuilding Memphis squad and didn’t even show up to their facility, team management reportedly agreed to buy out his $17m contract or trade him to a playoff contender. Naturally, his new teammates swiftly took offense at Iguodala’s stance, beating their chests when Memphis defied expectations and passed Golden State, his former team, in the Western Conference standings. “We all had the vision,” said Memphis’ Dillon Brooks. “He didn’t, which is perfect. Send him back to the Warriors and let him do his thing over there.”

Ultimately, Iguodala was traded to Miami before resurfacing with the Warriors. (“If they really wanted me,” Iguodala said of the Grizzlies in a recent podcast interview, “they would’ve fined me for not showing up.”) Months earlier the Grizzlies had brought the Warriors’ season to an end in the league’s play-in round. Then the Warriors returned the favor in last year’s Western Conference semifinals; it was a series that saw Brooks