So who do you want?

The Clippers or the Timberwolves?

The team Memphis used to hate, or the team that hasn’t been good enough to hate for a good long while?

You want Paul George or Karl-Anthony Towns? Norman Powell or Anthony Edwards?

You want Patrick Beverley’s former team or Patrick Beverley’s current team?

You want La-La Land or Minnesota nice?

Calkins: Grizzlies look ‘damn good’ in Morant’s return

This is something new for the Grizzlies, something not many expected when the season began.

Memphis fans and players will be able to kick back Tuesday night and watch the Clippers and Timberwolves play for the right to take on the Grizzlies in the first round of the playoffs.

“I really don’t care who we play,” Ja Morant said. “I’m focused on us.”

To be clear: Morant said that Saturday after the Grizzlies defeated New Orleans. Reporters — who understood Morant would likely sit out Sunday’s game against the Celtics — had the foresight to ask him the question in advance.

Sure enough, Morant sat out Sunday. As did Dillon Brooks, Jaren Jackson Jr., Steven Adams and Tyus Jones. 

So the Grizzlies didn’t set the franchise record with their 57th win of the season. They lost this one, 139-110.

Calkins: How did the Grizzlies beat the Suns? Joy!

But the mood at FedExForum was light and celebratory just the same, as the 17,741 in attendance basked in one of the most exhilarating and significant regular seasons in franchise history. 

And, yes, I thought hard about those adjectives. Exhilarating and significant seemed to fit.

This wasn’t the winningest regular season. The 2012-13 Grizzlies also had 56 wins.

Nor was it the most surprising regular season, if you go by preseason projections. These Grizzlies were projected to win 41.5 games, so they finished 14.5 games better than that. But the 2003-04 Grizzlies, who finished with 50 wins, were projected to win just 31.5 games — so they exceeded that by a whopping 18.5 wins.

But it’s hard to think of a Grizzlies regular season that was more exhilarating than this one, that offered up more moments that compelled you to rewind and watch again. Or moments that lifted you out of your chair. Or moments that caused you to laugh out loud at the sheer ridiculousness of what you just saw. 

No, those aren’t precise measurements. But if you had the good fortune to watch this season, you know exactly what I mean. On my morning radio show, we often play back the highlights after wins. And one of the best parts of those highlights — in addition to Eric Hasseltine’s excellent play-by-play — was hearing the erudite and incisive Elliot Perry reduced to spontaneous exclamations of awe.

Calkins: Remember the kid Ja stared down? The one in the Warriors jersey? He’s a Grizzlies fan now.

The very first game of the season, a win over Cleveland at FedExForum, left fans (and the players themselves) debating which Morant play was more spectacular: His preposterous block of Lauri Markkanen or his preposterous one-handed dunk.

As it turned out, neither would likely crack the Grizzlies’ 10 best plays of the season. But here is what Hasseltine’s call sounded like that evening: “THAT IS THE MOST RIDICULOUS RIGHT-HANDED ALLEY-OOP JAM I HAVE SEEN IN COVERING 21 YEARS OF BASKETBALL.”

And that was just Game 1.

It was a season that included Morant’s two-handed block against the Lakers, Morant’s 52-piece against the Spurs, Morant’s best dunk ever (over Jakob Poeltl) and Morant levitating to convert Steven Adams’ length-of-the-court pass. 

But the moment Grizzlies fans may treasure more than any other may have been the dunk by Santi Aldama against the Phoenix Suns — and the team-wide celebration that ensued. No, the moment didn’t go viral like some of the Morant highlights. But it captured the team’s unbridled joy.

Which brings me to the other adjective. It was one of the Grizzlies’ most significant regular seasons, too. You remember what was happening when this season began, don’t you? You remember the grumbling over the vaccination and mask requirements? Some people said they would never attend another Grizzlies game. Too bad for them.

These Grizzlies brought fans back to FedExForum. They took a building that felt empty and refilled it with happiness. Just try and buy a playoff ticket on the secondary market. Have you looked at the prices these days? You can’t get a lower bowl ticket for less than $300. A ticket in the rafters will cost you $80 at the least. 

Calkins: Dillon Brooks ‘had the vision.’ Andre Iguodala got the boos.

Six months ago, some openly wondered if fans had fallen out of the habit of attending games in person. Now the Grizzlies are as wildly popular as they have ever been.

Even lopsided losses like Sunday’s are fun. Because of the obvious pleasure the rest of the Grizzlies took in John Konchar getting a triple-double in the game. It was one more reminder this is not your average NBA team. They smile a lot more.

So now come the playoffs. And who knows how that will go? The Grizzlies really could win the NBA title. They really could lose to the Clippers or the Timberwolves in the first round. 

Either way, this has been one to remember, a regular season that will be savored for a very long time.

The 2021-22 regular-season Grizzlies weren’t just better than anyone imagined.

They were irresistible.