ESPN experts: Look out for Memphis for a potential 2025 Finals run

The Memphis Grizzlies are positioned to be back with a bang once the gates of the 2024-25 season officially opens.

Healthy and revitalized, the promising squad will furiously attempt to put past year's horrific outing behind that saw them finishing at the lottery. Powered by Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr., Desmond Bane and a bunch of reliable supporting cast, the Grizzlies are drawing high expectations to redeem themselves as one of the best teams in the NBA.

As most people predict them to be an instant postseason team, there is a handful of belief within the national media that the Grizzlies could even reach the NBA Finals.

Memphis in the Finals?

In four of the last five years, four Western Conference champions emerged to the NBA Finals after missing the playoffs a season prior. These are the Los Angeles Lakers (2020), Phoenix (2021), Golden State Warriors (2022), and the Dallas Mavericks (2024).

Will this trend continue in 2025? It's highly possible in the viewpoint of ESPN’s Chiney Ogwumike in which the Memphis Grizzlies could likely emerge as a strong candidate.

“I am really intrigued by the Memphis Grizzlies. Ja Morant is going to be back, we know where they were. … Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr., Desmond Bane, and Marcus Smart, who probably has a chip on his shoulder after watching his brothers [in the Boston Celtics] get a chip, we could see another spectacular run. We know what they can do. They play fast, Ja is one of the best even at a small size, they score in transition, they have a Defensive Player of the Year candidate in JJJ,” she argued in NBA Today.

“To me, they're a team that can make a run.”

Don't count out Ja & Co.

After finishing with just 27 wins, the Grizzlies settled at a lowly Top 13 finish in the West. As such, this served as a blessing in disguise for them to land Zach Edey in the past NBA Draft. As the Purdue star joins the talented Memphis squad, sky's the only limit for Ja and Co. to reach their full potential.

Some fans and experts might be unconvinced yet about how they'll fare for next year, but Richard Jefferson certainly believes that the Grizzlies shouldn't be counted out.

“Memphis, we were talking about them two seasons ago – the same way we talked about the OKC Thunder right now. They were trending in that direction. People had them picked to go to the Finals and people had this team as the hottest over the next three or four years. Obviously they had some injuries, off-court stuff. But, they have Jaren Jackson Jr. who was one of the Defensive Player of the Year players, a defensive stopper in Marcus Smart, an elite three-point shooter in Desmond Bane, and they're getting guys back like Brandon Clarke coming off from a torn Achilles,” Jefferson said.

“They have a ton of talent. If you told me this team would pop up in the Conference Finals, that's not a surprise. That's doing what they are expected to do.”

Related: Ja Morant and the Grizzlies collaborated in packing over 50,000 meals for the community