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Looking back on the Jaren Jackson Jr. era with the Grizzlies
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- Looking back on the Jaren Jackson Jr. era with the Grizzlies
The Jaren Jackson Jr. era is over in Memphis .
The Grizzlies traded Jackson to the Utah Jazz on Feb. 3, ending a run of more than 7½ seasons with their star forward. It was the latest move that has broken up the core that only a few years ago earned back-to-back No. 2 seeds in the Western Conference and positioned to compete at the top for years to come.
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Instead, the Grizzlies have only three players left from the 2022-23 team — Ja Morant , Santi Aldama and Brandon Clarke . Morant has been the subject of trade rumors as well and could be moved before the trade deadline on Feb. 5.
Jackson arrived in Memphis a year before Morant as the No. 4 overall pick out of Michigan State in 2018. He earned first-team NBA All-Rookie honors and quickly blossomed into a star player for a Grizzlies team built around him, Morant and Desmond Bane .
He became an elite defender and was named to the NBA All-Defensive first team in 2022, one of the years the Grizzlies was the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference playoffs.
That was also the only time the Grizzlies won a playoff series with Jackson, Bane and Morant, when they beat the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round before losing to the eventual champion Golden State Warriors in the conference semifinals.
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Jackson leveled up his game the following season, becoming an All-Star for the first time and winning NBA defensive player of the year. But the Grizzlies lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Los Angeles Lakers .
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING: Grizzlies fans, national media react to Jaren Jackson Jr. trade
With Morant sidelined for most of the following season because of a 25-game suspension and then a season-ending shoulder injury, Jackson took on a larger offensive role. He averaged 22.5 points per game in 2023-24 and 22.2 the next season. They were the only two seasons of his career where he averaged more than 20 points per game. He also earned his second All-Star selection in 2025.
But the Grizzlies traded Bane after another first-round playoff exit in 2025, and this season's team has struggled throughout the first half of the season. The decision to trade Jackson is a signal that a full-scale rebuild is almost certainly coming, with the Grizzlies loading up with draft capital and young players to build around for the future.
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"You have to be a pro about it," Jackson said when asked about trade rumors on Feb. 2. "You have to be a pro every day, coming into work doing what you're asked and being ready to play. At the end of the day, being out there on the court is the most fun part of all this, so get your mind right for that and let everything play out."
The trade also means an era of Grizzlies basketball has come to an end, even if that was already pretty clear after the Bane trade.
And the Grizzlies won't have to wait long to honor Jackson and his time with the franchise. Memphis' next home game is on Feb. 20 — and they'll host Jackson and the Jazz.
Reach sports writer Jonah Dylan at jonah.dylan@commercialappeal.com or on X @thejonahdylan.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Looking back on the Jaren Jackson Jr. era with the Grizzlies
