Calkins: Yes, the Grizzlies might play games in Nashville. But that’s no reason to be terrified.
Memphis Grizzlies fans cheer during the second half against the Denver Nuggets at FedExForum on March 18, 2026. (Wes Hale/Special to The Daily Memphian)
Geoff Calkins
Geoff Calkins has been chronicling Memphis and Memphis sports for more than two decades. Calkins has been named the best sports columnist in the country five times by the Associated Press sports editors, but still figures his best columns are about the people who make Memphis what it is.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is not the first person to try to transform a pro sports franchise into “Tennessee’s team.”
You recall the Oilers, right?
They moved from Houston to Nashville in 1997. But Nashville didn’t have a place to put them at the time.
So Oilers owner Bud Adams decided to have the team play at the Liberty Bowl for two years. To make it “Tennessee’s team.”
It was a dumb idea.
Anyone who lived in Memphis at the time could have told Adams just how dumb.
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Adam Silver Memphis Grizzlies Nashville Robert Pera Subscriber OnlyThank you for reading The Daily Memphian. Your support is critical.
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