Jay Huff needed only one year to fall in love with the city of Memphis.

Now with the Indiana Pacers, the former Memphis Grizzlies center returned to FedExForum on Oct. 25. He was in town for an NBA game, but he also had a chance to catch up with friends and former teammates. He misses playing with the Grizzlies, but he also misses the city, where he and his wife established a church home and a network of relationships.

Those relationships and his experience in Memphis are why he’s not a fan of negative comments that have been directed at the city.

“We really appreciated our time here,” Huff told The Commercial Appeal. “I think Memphis gets kind of a bad rep. I think a lot of people have been saying stuff about it, and it’s making me pretty mad. I loved my time here. I think that the way people talk about Memphis is unnecessary, and I think Memphis is a great city. I loved being here.”

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith made strong comments about the city in June, stating that some NBA players believe there are safety concerns that come with playing in Memphis. After Smith’s comments, Memphis Mayor Paul Young extended an invitation to visit.

Smith has not visited Memphis yet since accepting Young’s invitation.

Huff’s return visit didn’t go well for the Pacers. Memphis won 128-103, and Huff had two points and two rebounds in 10 minutes.

Huff was traded to Indiana in July after one season with the Grizzlies. Just days before the trade, he was at a Grizzlies community event. He admitted to being surprised when the trade happened, but he started to look at the bigger picture. Moving isn’t fun, but Memphis showed Huff that it doesn’t take long to get adjusted to a city that you accept.

“Two things can be true at the same time,” Huff said. “We were really sad to leave a community that we really love, and we were excited because it seemed like Indiana would be an opportunity to build another community and situation for us.”

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.