Former Memphis Grizzlies big man Jaren Jackson Jr. pinned a letter in The Players’ Tribune on Feb. 19, reflecting on his time in Memphis and playing with the Grizzlies since being drafted in 2018.
The Grizzlies traded Jackson on Feb. 3 to the Utah Jazz as part of an eight-player deal.
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Jackson started the letter by sharing the story of how he found out he was being traded from Grizzlies general manager Zach Kleiman. Former teammate Ja Morant was the first player he saw after the news.
“I bumped into Ja first,” Jackson said. “He was like, ‘So?’ I was like, Utah. He was like, ‘Oh, wow.’ We were just in real shock for a minute. I didn’t really know how to feel. And Ja was Ja, man. I’ll never forget what he said: ‘You been a pro for eight years, just continue to be that.’”
Jackson then reflected on his first years in Memphis before discussing 2022, which was the team’s height of success. Memphis won its only playoff series in Jackson’s eight seasons over the Minnesota Timberwolves and lost to the Golden State Warriors in six games in the following round.
As much as the wins and losses, that team will be remembered for its youthful energy that was channeled into unapologetic confidence.
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“When it came to our confidence, I don’t think we ever saw it the way other people did,” Jackson said. “We became a very polarizing team, and while that didn’t bother me, it definitely wasn’t lost on any of us.
“Here’s what I’ll say: We always thought we were having the edge that we needed to have, to beat teams. We never wanted to be beat on that. And that was out of pride for Memphis. You have to remember, our group had really only played there, except for a few people. We’re molding ourselves off the energy of the city, and off the last Grizzlies to ever do it that big — shoutout to Z-Bo, Tony Allen, Mike, and all them. We weren’t really trying to come off one way or another, but you also weren’t going to make us stop being us.”
Jackson thanked former coaches J.B. Bickerstaff, Taylor Jenkins, assistant coach Erik Schmidt, Darko Rajakovic and Tuomas Iislao. He then went on to thank all of his former teammates before finishing up with fans.
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“You embraced a young kid from Indiana, and for that I’ll always be grateful,” Jackson said. “I don’t take any of it for granted. Every night I went out there, I just wanted to make y’all proud.”
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: Jaren Jackson Jr. pins letter to Grizzlies, Memphis in Players’ Tribune