Best draft picks in Memphis Grizzlies history
The draft is a seminal moment for many incoming players. Putting aside competitive stakes, each young athlete's life is irreversibly altered by the fame and fortune that comes with being an NBA player. The exorbitant contract values ensures these players almost never have to worry about personal finances. Plus, these young guns get to play alongside some of their basketball idols for a living. With these high stakes, it's easy to see why the draft is so revered.
Likewise, the fortunes of a city and franchise can be completely transformed by a draft pick. LeBron James, for instance, brought Cleveland its first sports championship in 52 years and was also reportedly worth hundreds of millions to the city's downtown economy. It almost goes without saying that Michael Jordan built the Chicago Bulls from the ground up into a championship team whose dynamic would reverberate through the decades.
With that in mind, Stacker compiled a list of the best draft picks in Memphis Grizzlies history using data from Basketball-Reference.com. Players were ranked according to a formula that approximates their career achievements, career value, and play quality. The formula encompasses Basketball-Reference.com's Hall of Fame probability, career win shares, and value over replacement player, aka VORP. For players drafted before data is available for VORP, half of the player's win shares were used in its place to calculate their Stacker score.
Basketball Hall of Fame inductees were given a minimum of 60% for their Hall of Fame probability, indicating a worthy résumé for their time but not up to par with some modern players. Scores were normalized to 100 based on the scoring leader. Keep reading to see where your favorite players fall on the list.
#18. Darrell Arthur
- Stacker score: 1.4
- 27th overall pick in 2008
- Played four seasons with Memphis Grizzlies
- Career averages: 6.5 PTS, 3.5 REB, 0.8 AST
- Advanced statistics: 12.3 win shares, -2.2 box plus/minus, -0.4 VORP
#17. Jevon Carter
- Stacker score: 1.5
- 32nd overall pick in 2018
- Played one season with Memphis Grizzlies
- Career averages: 5.4 PTS, 1.9 REB, 1.7 AST
- Advanced statistics: 8.0 win shares, -0.9 box plus/minus, 1.4 VORP
#16. Greivis Vásquez
- Stacker score: 2.2
- 28th overall pick in 2010
- Played one season with Memphis Grizzlies
- Career averages: 9.0 PTS, 2.5 REB, 4.8 AST
- Advanced statistics: 12.6 win shares, -1.2 box plus/minus, 1.8 VORP
#15. Hakim Warrick
- Stacker score: 2.8
- 19th overall pick in 2005
- Played four seasons with Memphis Grizzlies
- Career averages: 9.4 PTS, 4.0 REB, 0.8 AST
- Advanced statistics: 20.4 win shares, -1.9 box plus/minus, 0.4 VORP
#14. Stromile Swift
- Stacker score: 3.1
- Second overall pick in 2000
- Played one season with Vancouver Grizzlies and six seasons with Memphis Grizzlies
- Career averages: 8.4 PTS, 4.6 REB, 0.5 AST
- Advanced statistics: 21.3 win shares, -1.6 box plus/minus, 1.1 VORP
#13. Desmond Bane
- Stacker score: 4.0
- 30th overall pick in 2020
- Played three seasons with Memphis Grizzlies
- Career averages: 16.1 PTS, 4.1 REB, 2.9 AST
- Advanced statistics: 16.0 win shares, 2.0 box plus/minus, 5.7 VORP
#12. Jaren Jackson
- Stacker score: 4.2
- Fourth overall pick in 2018
- Played five seasons with Memphis Grizzlies
- Career averages: 16.4 PTS, 5.5 REB, 1.1 AST
- Advanced statistics: 19.4 win shares, 0.7 box plus/minus, 5.0 VORP
- Accolades
--- 2022-23 Def. POY
--- 2x BLK Champ
--- 2x All-Defensive
--- 1x All Star
#11. O.J. Mayo
- Stacker score: 4.4
- Third overall pick in 2008
- Played four seasons with Memphis Grizzlies
- Career averages: 13.8 PTS, 3.1 REB, 2.9 AST
- Advanced statistics: 21.8 win shares, -0.9 box plus/minus, 4.7 VORP
#10. Brandon Clarke
- Stacker score: 4.7
- 21st overall pick in 2019
- Played four seasons with Memphis Grizzlies
- Career averages: 10.7 PTS, 5.6 REB, 1.4 AST
- Advanced statistics: 19.9 win shares, 2.8 box plus/minus, 6.1 VORP
#9. Ja Morant
- Stacker score: 5.9
- Second overall pick in 2019
- Played four seasons with Memphis Grizzlies
- Career averages: 22.4 PTS, 4.8 REB, 7.4 AST
- Advanced statistics: 19.7 win shares, 2.8 box plus/minus, 9.7 VORP
- Accolades
--- 2019-20 ROY
--- 2021-22 All-NBA
--- 2x All Star
#8. DeMarre Carroll
- Stacker score: 6.1
- 27th overall pick in 2009
- Played two seasons with Memphis Grizzlies
- Career averages: 8.9 PTS, 4.2 REB, 1.3 AST
- Advanced statistics: 29.5 win shares, 0.0 box plus/minus, 6.7 VORP
#7. Drew Gooden
- Stacker score: 7.1
- Fourth overall pick in 2002
- Played one season with Memphis Grizzlies
- Career averages: 11.0 PTS, 7.1 REB, 1.1 AST
- Advanced statistics: 43.9 win shares, -1.2 box plus/minus, 4.3 VORP
#6. Antonio Daniels
- Stacker score: 9.5
- Fourth overall pick in 1997
- Played one season with Vancouver Grizzlies
- Career averages: 7.6 PTS, 1.8 REB, 3.4 AST
- Advanced statistics: 47.0 win shares, 0.0 box plus/minus, 10.1 VORP
- Accolades
--- 1999 NBA Champ
#5. Rudy Gay
- Stacker score: 15.6
- Eighth overall pick in 2006
- Played seven seasons with Memphis Grizzlies
- Career averages: 15.8 PTS, 5.6 REB, 2.0 AST
- Advanced statistics: 61.0 win shares, 0.6 box plus/minus, 22.4 VORP
#4. Mike Bibby
- Stacker score: 17.6
- Second overall pick in 1998
- Played three seasons with Vancouver Grizzlies
- Career averages: 14.7 PTS, 3.1 REB, 5.5 AST
- Advanced statistics: 73.2 win shares, 0.8 box plus/minus, 23.8 VORP
#3. Shane Battier
- Stacker score: 19.4
- Sixth overall pick in 2001
- Played six seasons with Memphis Grizzlies
- Career averages: 8.6 PTS, 4.2 REB, 1.8 AST
- Advanced statistics: 75.7 win shares, 1.7 box plus/minus, 28.2 VORP
- Accolades
--- 2x NBA Champ
--- 2x All-Defensive
#2. Mike Conley
- Stacker score: 24.5
- Fourth overall pick in 2007
- Played 12 seasons with Memphis Grizzlies
- Career averages: 14.7 PTS, 3.0 REB, 5.7 AST
- Advanced statistics: 92.3 win shares, 2.4 box plus/minus, 36.2 VORP
- Hall of Fame probability: 0.7%
- Accolades
--- 2012-13 All-Defensive
--- 1x All Star
#1. Kyle Lowry
- Stacker score: 42.9
- 24th overall pick in 2006
- Played three seasons with Memphis Grizzlies
- Career averages: 14.6 PTS, 4.4 REB, 6.3 AST
- Advanced statistics: 108.1 win shares, 2.9 box plus/minus, 42.8 VORP
- Hall of Fame probability: 85.7%
- Accolades
--- 2019 NBA Champ
--- 2015-16 All-NBA
--- 6x All Star
