Tip-Off Time! Grizzlies Ready to Take on the Defending Champs
The Memphis Grizzlies are gearing up to face off against the reigning champions, and the excitement is palpable!
This highly anticipated matchup is just around the corner, and fans are eager to see their team in action.
Will the Grizzlies pull off an upset, or will the champs prove too strong? The battle is about to begin!
As the NBA offseason comes to a standstill in terms of player transactions and announcements, the aftermath of the 2025–26 schedule reveal lingers.
Despite a strong home schedule to start the upcoming season, the Memphis Grizzlies will face increasingly difficult opponents down the road.
Once they open the regular season at home against New Orleans, Miami, and Indiana—teams that aren’t expected to be high-level playoff contenders—their schedule becomes considerably more challenging.
A few of their rivals and a team they’re looking forward to seeing again are on the challenging stretch, which may be more appealing to the Grizzlies.
Memphis gets an early chance at redemption
The Oklahoma City Thunder are the defending NBA champions, and defeated the Grizzlies in a first-round playoff series sweep en route to their first championship since moving to Oklahoma. The Grizzlies held a 27-point lead in Game 3 of their series before Ja Morant left the game with an hip injury and the rest was history.
Ja Morant made shockwaves during his exit interview when he said the Grizzlies would’ve tied the series at 2-2 if he had never left that game with the injury that ended his season.
That quote alone means the team has Oklahoma City circled on its calendar for the upcoming season, and they will see them early on November 9th at the FedExForum.
In total, they only play the Thunder three times this season (twice at home) after facing off against them four times last regular season.
Outside of the first round sweep, the Thunder have dominated the Grizzlies with nine consecutive wins over them in the regular season, and 13 straight including the playoffs.
That kind of dominance never sits well with a franchise no matter the circumstances of how the matchups played out with different sets of injuries. Last season, the Grizzlies didn’t play the Thunder until late December for their first matchup in Oklahoma City.
After their second matchup in February, they played six times in March and April, splitting home and away evenly, including their playoff series.
Ja Morant will look to reclaim a spot among the NBA’s elite this season, and facing the reigning MVP and Finals MVP, Shai-Gilgeous Alexander, early will be a test to see if Morant is ready for that level again.
The Thunder dominated the NBA as a whole last season with 68 wins and the NBA Championship.
They are the standard right now, and the Grizzlies will have to get over the hurdle of consecutive losses to them to gain the confidence to surpass them when it matters the most.
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