Memphis Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins walked into the FedExForum media room Monday night before the Grizzlies’ loss to the Los Angeles Clippers prepared with a comment to fire off. 

Jenkins knew he would be asked about the crispy white, retro Vancouver Grizzlies jacket he was wearing. It was a deviation from the five or six Memphis sweatshirts he typically wears before each game — and it was clearly brand new. 

Memphis Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins shows off his retro Vancouver Grizzlies jacket. (Drew Hill/The Daily Memphian)

“Got it at the Grizzlies Den,” Jenkins said while pointing to the Vancouver logo and stepping in front of the cameras. 

Um, he did what?

In an effort to make sure media members heard him correctly, Jenkins was asked again how he got the jacket. Surely the head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies wasn’t shopping in the FedExForum team store, right?

All Jenkins has to do is ask for those sorts of things. 

“Yep, (it's from the Grizzlies Den),” Jenkins said. “I love the jacket. My wife went into the fan shop the other day and got some of our red retro gear, and I was like, ‘Man, I wonder if they have my size in that?’

“So, I went up there and said, ‘Hey, I’m going to get (some of the red apparel) before they run out.’ 

“I think I went back to return something because the size didn’t fit me, and I saw that they added these jackets. I knew I had to get this.”

A couple of Memphis players laughed that it was on brand for Jenkins to shop in the Grizzlies Den despite having access to all sorts of team-issued apparel. An employee working inside the team store Monday night said Jenkins actually shops in there frequently. 

“Oh, for sure,” Grizzlies forward Santi Aldama said when asked if that sounds like something Jenkins would do. “But I think the jacket fits him, too.

“I saw jacket and I thought it was sick,” Aldama added. “I got to go see if I can find that. I’m wearing that, for sure.”

Hey, it’s certainly another way for Jenkins to support the franchise. 

Actually, as it turns out, the coach was not alone. 

“I was just in there last week, too,” Grizzlies star Desmond Bane said. 

Bane, searching for a Secret Santa gift, went into the Grizzlies Den to buy one of the sweaters from the fashion collab between designer Prep Curry and Memphis hoops star Jaren Jackson Jr. 

“They got some stuff in there,” Bane said. “Yeah, that team store, they got some stuff in there.”

So, if you have some late holiday shopping to do for a fan or a friend, you know where to go. The store is open on Christmas Eve from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. 

You never know who you might run into. 

“If you have some last-minute items to get, I would highly recommend going up there,” Jenkins said. “I know we play in our red uniforms and classic uniforms many more times throughout the year, so hopefully you come try to match it up.”

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