# Memphis Grizzlies draft history

The Memphis Grizzlies were first located in Vancouver after the National Basketball Association (NBA) granted the city an expansion team on April 27, 1994, and they first participated in the NBA draft in 1995. However, the Grizzlies win–loss record after six seasons was only 101-359 (.220), and on July 4, 2001, the league's board of governors approved a move to Memphis, where the team has been located ever since.
In 1989, the NBA agreed with the National Basketball Players' Association to limit drafts to two rounds, an arrangement that has remained the same up the present time. Before each draft, an NBA draft lottery determines the first round selection order for the teams that missed the playoffs during the prior season. Teams can also trade their picks, which means that in some drafts teams may have more or less than two draft picks, although they must have at least one first-round pick every other year.
Zach Kleiman became the Grizzlies General Manager/VP of Operations in 2019. He has been very busy on the draft days making trades. Thus, the players "drafted officially" but traded "out" on draft day are in italics and the players traded "for" on draft day are included in the list of drafted players.
Including draft day trades, ten of the players that the Grizzlies have drafted were named to the NBA All-Rookie Team in their respective rookie seasons—Shareef Abdur-Rahim in 1997, Mike Bibby in 1999, Shane Battier and Pau Gasol in 2002, Rudy Gay in 2007, Jaren Jackson Jr. in 2019, Ja Morant and Brandon Clarke in 2020, Desmond Bane in 2021 and GG Jackson in 2024—Gasol was named the Rookie of the Year in 2002 while Morant was named the Rookie of the Year in 2020.

## Key

| Abbreviation | Meaning |
| Nat | Nationality |
| Pos | Position |
| PG | Point guard |
| SG | Shooting guard |
| SF | Small forward |
| PF | Power forward |
| C | Center |
| Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer | First Overall NBA Draft Pick | Selected for an NBA All-Star Game |

## Selections

| Year | Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | Position | College/High School/Club | Notes |
| 1995 | 1 | 6 | Bryant Reeves | United States | C | Oklahoma State | |
| 1995 | 2 | 36 | Lawrence Moten | United States | G | Syracuse | |
| 1996 | 1 | 3 | Shareef Abdur-Rahim | United States | PF | California | |
| 1996 | 1 | 22 | Roy Rogers | United States | PF | Alabama | (from Houston) |
| 1996 | 2 | 51 | Chris Robinson | United States | SG | Western Kentucky | (from Houston) |
| 1997 | 1 | 4 | Antonio Daniels | United States | PG | Bowling Green | |
| 1997 | 2 | 53 | C. J. Bruton | Australia | SG | Indian Hills Community College | (traded to Portland) |
| 1998 | 1 | 2 | Mike Bibby | United States | PG | Arizona | |
| 1998 | 2 | 56 | J.R. Henderson | United States | SF | UCLA | (from LA Lakers) |
| 1999 | 1 | 2 | Steve Francis | United States | PG | Maryland | (traded to Houston) |
| 1999 | 2 | 37 | Obinna Ekezie | Nigeria | C | Maryland | (from Boston) |
| 1999 | 2 | 51 | Antwain Smith | United States | SF | Saint Paul's (VA) | (from LA Lakers) |
| 2000 | 1 | 2 | Stromile Swift | United States | PF | LSU | |
| 2001 | 1 | 6 | Shane Battier | United States | SF | Duke | |
| 2001 | 1 | 27 | Jamaal Tinsley | United States | PG | Iowa State | (from New York, traded to Atlanta) |
| 2001 | 2 | 33 | Will Solomon | United States | PG/SG | Clemson | |
| 2001 | 2 | 48 | Antonis Fotsis | Greece | PF | Panathinaikos (Greece) | (from New York) |
| 2002 | 1 | 4 | Drew Gooden | United States | PF | Kansas | |
| 2002 | 2 | 32 | Robert Archibald | Scotland | PF/C | Illinois | |
| 2002 | 2 | 45 | Matt Barnes | United States | SF | UCLA | (from Orlando, traded to Cleveland) |
| 2003 | 1 | 13 | Marcus Banks | United States | SF | UNLV | (from Houston, traded to Boston) |
| 2003 | 1 | 27 | Kendrick Perkins | United States | C | Clifton J. Ozen High School | (traded to Boston) |
| 2004 | 2 | 49 | Sergei Lishouk | Ukraine | C | Khimik Yuzhny (Ukraine) | |
| 2005 | 1 | 19 | Hakim Warrick | United States | PF | Syracuse | |
| 2006 | 1 | 24 | Kyle Lowry | United States | PG | Villanova | |
| 2007 | 1 | 4 | Mike Conley Jr. | United States | PG | Ohio State | |
| 2008 | 1 | 5 | Kevin Love | United States | C | UCLA | (traded to Minnesota) |
| 2008 | 1 | 28 | Donte Greene | United States | C | Syracuse | (from L.A. Lakers, traded to Houston) |
| 2009 | 1 | 2 | Hasheem Thabeet | Tanzania | C | Connecticut | |
| 2009 | 1 | 27 | DeMarre Carroll | United States | PF | Missouri | (from Orlando) |
| 2009 | 2 | 36 | Sam Young | United States | SF | Pittsburgh | |
| 2010 | 1 | 12 | Xavier Henry | United States | SG | Kansas | |
| 2010 | 1 | 25 | Dominique Jones | United States | SG | South Florida | (from Denver, traded to Dallas) |
| 2010 | 1 | 28 | Greivis Vásquez | Venezuela | PG/SG | Maryland | (from L.A. Lakers) |
| 2011 | 2 | 49 | Josh Selby | United States | PG/SG | Kansas | |
| 2012 | 1 | 25 | Tony Wroten | United States | PG | Washington | |
| 2013 | 2 | 41 | Jamaal Franklin | United States | SG | San Diego State | |
| 2013 | 2 | 60 | Jānis Timma | Latvia | SF | BK Ventspils | |
| 2014 | 1 | 22 | Jordan Adams | United States | SG | UCLA | |
| 2015 | 1 | 25 | Jarell Martin | United States | PF | LSU | |
| 2016 | 1 | 17 | Wade Baldwin | United States | PG | Vanderbilt | |
| 2016 | 2 | 57 | Wang Zhelin | China | C | Fujian Sturgeons (China) | (from Toronto) |
| 2018 | 1 | 4 | Jaren Jackson Jr. | United States | PF | Michigan State | |
| 2018 | 2 | 32 | Jevon Carter | United States | PG | West Virginia | |
| 2019 | 1 | 2 | Ja Morant | United States | PG | Murray State | |
| 2019 | 1 | 21 | Brandon Clarke | Canada | PF | Gonzaga | (drafted by OKC for Memphis) |
| 2020 | 1 | 30 | Desmond Bane | United States | SG | Texas Christian | (drafted by Boston for Memphis) |
| 2020 | 2 | 40 | Robert Woodard II | United States | SF | Mississippi State | (from Phoenix, traded to Sacramento) |
| 2021 | 1 | 10 | Ziaire Williams | United States | SF | Stanford | (drafted by New Orleans) |
| 2021 | 1 | 17 | Trey Murphy III | United States | SF | Virginia | (traded to New Orleans) |
| 2021 | 1 | 30 | Santi Aldama | Spain | C/PF | Loyola (MD) | (drafted by Utah for Memphis) |
| 2022 | 1 | 19 | Jake LaRavia | United States | S/PF | Wake Forest | (drafted by Minnesota for Memphis) |
| 2022 | 1 | 22 | Walker Kessler | United States | C | Auburn | (traded to Minnesota) |
| 2022 | 1 | 23 | David Roddy | United States | S/PF | CSU | (drafted by Philadelphia for Memphis) |
| 2022 | 1 | 29 | TyTy Washington Jr. | United States | PG | Kentucky | (from Utah, traded to Minnesota) |
| 2022 | 2 | 47 | Vince Williams Jr. | United States | SG | VCU |
| 2023 | 1 | 25 | Marcus Sasser | United States | PG | Houston | (traded to Boston) |
| 2023 | 2 | 45 | GG Jackson | United States | S/PF | South Carolina | |
| 2024 | 1 | 9 | Zach Edey | Canada | C | Purdue | |
| 2024 | 2 | 39 | Jaylen Wells | United States | SF | WSU | |
| 2024 | 2 | 53 | Cam Spencer | United States | SG | UConn | (drafted by Detroit via Minn for Memphis) |