In just a couple of weeks, first-year Grizzlies assistant Sonia Raman has checked the boxes, one by one, of quintessential Memphis experiences.

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She visited the Lorraine Motel, walked around the I Am A Man Plaza, laughed as the ducks marched at Peabody, shopped at the Memphis Farmers Market, strolled down Main Street, checked out Overton Park, biked the Shelby Farms Greenline and watched a sunset over the river on Mud Island.

“The list goes on,” Raman said. “I’m trying to fit it all in before the season starts.”

But there is just one truly Memphis task left to do, a glaring omission, that will have to wait: A raucous, exhilarating Grizzlies game day inside FedExForum.

The pandemic has that on hold.

“I like to think I’m saving the best for last,” she said.

Despite all the sightseeing, eating and introductions, it still hasn’t sunk in just yet — the idea that Raman moved more than 1,300 miles, from Cambridge, Massachusetts to Memphis, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies.

“I think the first week of practice is when it will probably hit me,” she said. “When I’m out there on the court with Coach (Taylor Jenkins) and the other coaches rolling up my sleeves and becoming a part of the getting-better process. Maybe it will be the first preseason game, we’ll see.”

Raman notes it was not always her dream to coach in the NBA, but to find a high-level coaching position that aligns with her values and development process.

She believes she found that in Memphis, evident in the message she will see in the practice facility every day: “Compete. Get better. Together.”

It aligns perfectly with what her message was while coaching the MIT women’s basketball team. 

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“The biggest takeaway from the first couple weeks here is just how welcoming everybody has been,” Raman said. “It’s to the point where I don’t have to ask the questions before someone answered it for me or showed me where I need to go. … I feel like I have been really embraced, and everyone has taken me under their wing. That’s really comforting.”

Some words of advice

One person who has already reached out with words of advice: Notre Dame women’s basketball coach Niele Ivey.

Ivey, who was named the Grizzlies’ first-ever female assistant coach in November 2019, left for the Irish in April following the retirement of legendary coach Muffet McGraw.

“She was just really, really friendly and welcoming,” Raman said. “It says a lot, because her season is about to start, that she would take some time in her busy schedule to talk to me and answer all of the questions that I had for her.

“That includes questions about what Memphis is like and her favorite restaurants. I really peppered her, and she was so gracious with her time to talk to me, and she offered to be a resource whenever I need it. That was really cool, because I have so much respect for Niele.”

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One of the suggestions stood out: Above all, building relationships with other staff members and players will be the best way to make an immediate impact on the team.

Ivey was beloved by the Grizzlies and still interacts often with the team’s stars on social media.

“In her first month, she spent a lot of time getting to know the rest of the staff, shadowing some of the coaches, learning how they do scouts and getting to know the players,” Raman said. “… I’m going to keep that in the front of my mind.”

It’s important to point out, however, that just because Raman and Ivey are both female coaches does not mean they will fill the same role. Raman is not stepping into Ivey’s shoes; she will blaze her own path.

“This is its own thing,” Raman said. “That’s the beauty of it. When you start to see more representation and more women in these roles, everyone is going to do it their own way. That’s certainly how I have to do it. I’m going to stay true to who I am.”

The future of the Grizzlies

She is a basketball brainiac, the proverbial “student of the game” who writes plays on a napkin while watching a game at a restaurant and has studied Boston Celtics practices for several years.

That hopefully will help earn the respect and trust of the youngest team in the league, led by a basketball-obsessed point guard who doubles as the reigning NBA Rookie of the Year.

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“I’ve only met (Ja Morant) briefly so far, but what a warm and friendly person he is,” Raman said. “I’m not surprised at all that this city has fallen in love with him. I know he does a lot for the community here as well, so I’m sure he is going to be a beloved athlete here for quite a while. And of course, he’s an incredibly exciting player.”

Raman views Morant as the catalyst for the Grizzlies’ style of play and cheery attitude last season and noted the importance of building a beneficial relationship with the budding star.

“He leads by example as someone who is incredibly unselfish with the ball,” she said. “It has to be fun to play with a player like that, and I’m sure it will be fun to coach a player like that.”

For Raman, the promise of the young Grizzlies, led by a pair of 21-year-olds (the other being Jaren Jackson Jr.), was part of what made Memphis such an attractive coaching destination. In its first season under Jenkins, the team fell one game shy of the playoffs, exceeding preseason expectations.

In Year 2, those expectations will be different.

“This is a really exciting and talented young core,” she said. “This is the youngest team in the NBA with a good veteran presence. More than anything, though, what you notice is that this is an unselfish group with great chemistry. They are really bought-in to the game plan and the direction they are going. But I think I’ll be able to (draw more conclusions) when the season gets going.”

Staying the same

With an elevated new platform, Raman also intends to continue advocating for female coaches and diversity across all sports.

In September 2017, she was selected to serve a two-year term on the Coaches Council for the Alliance of Women Coaches, an organization dedicated to provide support and resources to female coaches at all levels. 

She is the second-ever female coach hired by the Memphis Grizzlies, and the third NBA coach of Indian descent.

“When you look at the DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) initiatives, so much of that starts with diversity, right?” Raman said. “It starts with the hiring in piece. I think that the Grizzlies have done such a great job with that.

“I’m not the first woman, they are already ahead of that. Niele paved the way for me. And, really, there’s amazing women in this organization everywhere, not just on the coaching side. They have women in all aspects of this organization.

“We need to continue to have opportunities for women in different career paths. From there, progress will come. I think the Grizzlies have set an example in that area.”