When the students of Leadership Prep arrived at the Memphis Zoo on Tuesday night, Dec. 6, for a Memphis Grizzlies community event, they were greeted by a large man with a thick beard. 

It was Santa Claus! Oh — and Memphis center Steven Adams was there, too. 

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Great news: Adams has made it on the “Nice List” this year, Santa said so himself. That’s pretty good work for a guy with two technical fouls this season. 

So why haven’t there been any presents under Adams’ Christmas tree for a while?

“Nothing the last ten years!” Adams said. “I think maybe Santa is slacking.”

Or, maybe Adams just found himself on the wrong list. He is known for his colorful vocabulary, which he doesn’t hide when he’s in front of cameras. 

“Nah, I don’t think that’s it,” Adams said. “Santa does, too. Santa swears, too.”

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But this holiday season, he’s in the clear. Perhaps his good deeds, like surprising the children at the Zoo Lights event, counterbalanced his tough guy status. 

“These things are good to change up the monotony of the NBA,” Adams said. “It feels good to engage with the community. So that makes this a special night, you know?”

Adams, who grew up in New Zealand, said he celebrated Christmas during the summer months. He often spent the holidays going to the beach and barbecuing. 

“But we watch American movies, so everything is winter and snowing,” Adams said. “So, we’re like, ‘All right! Yeah!’”

Adams’ favorite Christmas movie is “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.”

Why is that?

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“It seems like a real movie,” Adams said. “You have an angry dude, and then he participates. Then it’s all good.”

The Grizzlies big man walked around and took pictures of the lights on his phone after surprising the students. It was his first trip to the Memphis Zoo — a place that once named a giraffe after his teammate, Ja Morant.

So what animal would Adams like to be named after him?

“Either a gorilla or a Malaysian sun bear,” Adams said.

If you’re wondering what a sun bear is, Adams has no idea either.

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Rotation Roddy

It’s hard to imagine that the Grizzlies anticipated David Roddy playing rotation minutes so early in his NBA career. This offseason, the team loaded up on frontcourt depth and point guard depth in the draft, backfilling behind Jaren Jackson Jr. and Ja Morant. 

But so far, the No. 23 overall draft pick has played predominantly on the wing. Part of that has been due to Grizzlies injuries which have kept Desmond Bane and Ziaire Williams off the floor for several weeks. 

“I’m still open-minded as to where he could land (positionally),” Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said last week. “Ultimately, our point guards are our drivers offensively, but can positions two through four be more interchangeable from a secondary playmaker and shot-making standpoint? I think defensively, Roddy, hopefully in time, can have different usages. Can he guard one through five? We switch a little bit more. 

“He has been guarding a lot of wings. Right now, he’s been guarding some (forwards). Offensively, we mainly have him at the four, but recently at the three because of our lineup changes.”

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Roddy’s rest-of-season view is murky when the Grizzlies return some of their key players on the wing. It very well could bump him out of the rotation to an 11th or 12th man role. 

But for now, he’s been completely thrown into the fire. The rookie started his first game on Monday, Dec. 5, against Miami, and has been the first player off the bench to replace Dillon Brooks, who typically defends the opponent’s best scorer. 

“It’s a huge responsibility and a great challenge for me,” Roddy said. “I’ve never had to do this in my basketball career, really. I’m guarding wings and superstar guys. It fuels my competitiveness, and I have fun and enjoy it. I’ve been watching (Brooks) a lot, and I know I can ask him any question under the sun about defense and he always has an answer. I’ve been trying to learn from him, and hopefully, they can gain even more trust in me those assignments.”

The Grizzlies view tenacity as a shared trait between Roddy and Brooks, who play with a similar level of physicality and force when on the court. Roddy acknowledges that and knows it’s a key to slowing down some of the best players in the league. 

“Defense can sometimes be robotic, where you think if you’re staying in front of your man, you’re doing the job,” he said. “But making the offense veer off the original plan is important. I watch a lot of (Brooks) and try to replicate that.”

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Williams waltzes in...

The last time Memphis fans watched Ziaire Williams play was during NBA preseason action. But that was far less memorable than what he did during the NBA summer league, when he averaged 15 points and four assists over three games in Las Vegas while playing as the primary ball handler. 

By resting the point guard for the first 24 games of the regular season, Memphis hopes the patellar tendinitis that has bothered Williams since last season will be gone for good. 

His return to the court is imminent. Ja Morant confirmed that Tuesday by simply tweeting an eight-ball emoji, which is the number Williams wears. 

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At the very least, Memphis has a positive track record with that sort of thing.

Desmond Bane made his massive second-year leap after averaging 24 points and four assists during the summer of 2021.

Santi Aldama, who wasn’t even in the Grizzlies’ rotation last season, averaged 16.8 points and 7.8 points at 2022 summer league. He has since worked his way into the rotation and looks like a key piece moving forward off the bench. 

Now it’s Williams’ turn to prove his summer was no fluke after a six-week delay.