ESPN vice president explains why Memphis Grizzlies are now one of NBA's star attractions
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The Memphis Grizzlies are far removed from the days of Ja Morant going on Instagram Live campaigning for more ESPN games. Those days were just six months ago, but a 56-win season, an ESPN All-Access special and one of the league's most exciting players has the Grizzlies as one of the most featured teams on ESPN for the 2022-23 season.
The NBA released the 2022-23 schedule on Wednesday, and the Grizzlies received a franchise-record 18 national TV games, plus 10 more viewings on NBA TV. Of those 18 games, 11 will be on ESPN and ABC, which was the eighth-highest total in the NBA.
"The Grizzlies are coming off an incredible year," said Matt Kenny, ESPN vice president, programming and acquisitions. "We're interested in continuing to tell that story. The Grizzlies will be the ones that write it. We want to be there to cover it."
ESPN builds the schedule of games through collaborative work with the NBA. Certain teams are focused on, and Memphis is now one of those franchises.
One glance at the Grizzlies' schedule and you'll notice that the 11 ESPN games will come against 10 different opponents. Only budding rival Golden State is featured twice. The Warriors won the 2022 NBA championship and defeated the Grizzlies 4-2 in the Western Conference semifinals. Between the postgame news conferences, questionable fouls, injuries and competitiveness, this was one of the most memorable playoff series from last season.
"We're storytellers at heart," Kenny said. "We're NBA fans, too. We're very aware of key storylines, developing rivalries, and we want to bring fans the absolute best games."
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The Grizzlies had four 50-win seasons before 2022, but the air feels different these days. Yes, Morant's ascension is a big reason, but it's also the core around him.
When it was announced that Morant wouldn't play in last season's historic ESPN All-Access game against the Brooklyn Nets, initially it felt like a bummer that the world couldn't see Memphis' All-Star. The Grizzlies defeated the Nets 132-120 while seven of their players scored in double figures.
That game served as a nationwide introduction to the Grizzlies' depth and promising young core.
And then there's the small-market talk. Ask general manager Zach Kleiman, and the Grizzlies don't view themselves as a so-called smaller market. Earlier this summer, Kleiman said Memphis will pay to keep its core intact, and he's proving it with contract extensions to Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr. and John Konchar.
While there's no clear definition of what makes an NBA team a small or big-market franchise, a few of the historical powers are among the 10 teams with double-digit games this season.
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The full list includes: Warriors (18), Los Angeles Lakers (16), Boston Celtics (16), Milwaukee Bucks (14), Dallas Mavericks (14), Philadelphia 76ers (13), Phoenix Suns (13), Grizzlies (11) Los Angeles Clippers (10) and New York Knicks (10).
Memphis has entered the upper echelon.
"NBA fans are smart, and they want to see stars and the very best teams," Kenny said. "Whether big market or small market, you can't deny the on the court performance, the off the court enthusiasm and when you look at the upcoming season, it's clear there's a lot of interest in the Memphis Grizzlies. We're proud to showcase them at least 11 times this year."
Contact Damichael Cole at damichael.cole@commercialappeal.com and on Twitter @damichaelc
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: ESPN vice president explains Memphis Grizzlies' increased coverage
