How Yuki Kawamura 'stole the show' and other Memphis Grizzlies open practice takeaways

Memphis Grizzlies point guard Yuki Kawamura stood over to the side with his other teammates while rookies Cam Spencer, Jaylen Wells and Zach Edey participated in the annual rookie dancing competition at Sunday's open practice at FedExForum.

Shortly after the rookies finished their dance routines, a loud chant echoed through FedExForum.

Yuki! Yuki! Yuki!

Grizzlies fans called for the 5-foot-8 guard to join the dancing competition, and he didn't disappoint. Kawamura headed for half-court, shuffled his feet and performed the popular "griddy" dance. He was later joined by Grizzlies star Ja Morant.

Kawamura won the Grizzlies' annual dance competition to wrap up open practice. The Japanese point guard has been a popular player in training camp with fans, media traveling from his native country and his teammates.

"I think Yuki definitely stole the show today," forward Jake LaRavia said. "He's a character."

"He's a guy that's full of energy," Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said. "He's got a bubbling personality. I'm glad he was able to showcase that in front of the fans."

The dancing competition was the final event, but Grizzlies players competed in other categories, too. A 3-point shootout, skills challenge, trick shots and half-court shooting were all part of Sunday's festivities.

Here's everything that stood out during open practice.

Jaylen Wells' shooting passes the eye test

Shooting was one of the Grizzlies' biggest draws to Wells before the draft, and it's easy to see why. The rookie's confidence is growing by the day, and that's one of the most important pieces to being a great shooter.

Wells started off open practice by winning the skills challenge with a nearly flawless performance. He made his first 3-point shot in all three rounds and defeated center Jay Huff in the final. If you needed any more proof that Wells' confidence is coming along, the 6-8 forward looked away and turned around from the basket before his final 3-pointer splashed through the net.

"He's another guy that's got tons of energy," Jenkins said. "He's come in and just been consistent with the effort on both sides of the floor, the pace that we're playing with, defensive activity."

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Zach Edey 3-pointers coming soon?

Edey teamed with Luke Kennard in the 3-point competition to go against Desmond Bane and LaRavia. On paper, this may appear to be a mismatch, but that wasn't the case. The goal was first duo to 60 made 3-pointers. Bane and LaRavia won, but it was close. Kennard shooting the ball well is no surprise, but Edey was impressive. His jumper looked smooth and his mechanics were repeatable. Now, Grizzlies fans will wait and see if the 7-4 big man will attempt 3-pointers in a real game.

"When it's opportunities to be out on the perimeter, whether it's trailing the play or he just so happens to kind of move himself out there, I want him to feel like he's got the green light," Jenkins said. "I don't want to restrict him by any means. I want to see what he's capable of."

Preseason opener rotation

Memphis is heading to Dallas for its preseason opener against the Mavericks on Monday (7 p.m. CT). The Grizzlies will be without the following injured players: Jaren Jackson Jr. (hamstring), GG Jackson (foot surgery), Vince Williams Jr. (stress reaction, left shin) and Spencer (ankle). Beyond those players, everyone else is expected to be available. Projected starters like Morant, Marcus Smart and Bane are expected to play somewhere between the high teens and low 20s in minutes.

Damichael Cole is the Memphis Grizzlies beat writer for The Commercial Appeal. Contact Damichael at damichael.cole@commercialappeal.com . Follow Damichael on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DamichaelC.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: How Yuki Kawamura 'stole the show' and other Memphis Grizzlies open practice takeaways