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Grizzlies Make Announcement On Promising 6-Foot-7 Forward
Mar 21, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (12), center in white hoodie, looks on from the bench in the first half against the Los Angeles Clippers at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Grizzlies Make Announcement On Promising 6-Foot-7 Forward

Originally posted on Memphis Grizzlies on SI
By Liam Willerup  |  Last updated Sep 4, 2025 5:55 PM ET

The Memphis Grizzlies were the second seed in the Western Conference heading into the All-Star break, a surprise to many given how loaded the conference was. However, things changed after the break, as Memphis fell all the way down to the eighth seed and had to win a win-or-go-home elimination game in the Play-In Tournament to make the postseason.

Even after all that, they were swept in the first round by the Oklahoma City Thunder, suffering a historic Game 1 loss as the Thunder went on to become the NBA Champions. Now, heading into the 2025-26 season, the Grizzlies will have a new head coach and be without their star shooting guard in Desmond Bane, after he was dealt to the Orlando Magic.

With Bane gone, a lot of Memphis' upcoming season will be determined by the young talent on its roster. The Western Conference only got better this offseason, and they'll need players like GG Jackson, Jaylen Wells, Zach Edey, and rookie Cedric Coward to be quality rotation players next season if they want to make the postseason.

While being on a two-way contract is far from a guarantee on consistent NBA minutes, the Grizzlies will now have a chance to try to turn around the fortunes of a former first-round pick after their recent signing.

Grizzlies Take A Chance On Former First-Round Pick

The 24th overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, the Grizzlies have officially announced the signing of Olivier-Maxence Prosper to a two-way contract.

"Prosper (6-8, 215) has appeared in 92 games (five starts) and has averaged 3.5 points and 2.2 rebounds in 10.0 minutes in two seasons with the Dallas Mavericks... (he) started all 25 of his NBA G League appearances with the Texas Legends during the 2023-24 season and averaged 18.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steals in 32.9 minutes," the Grizzlies shared.

What's The Best Case Scenario For Prosper?

Where Prosper is most intriguing as a player is on the defensive side of the floor. The Grizzlies' identity in recent years has been built on tough-nosed defensive players, such as Tony Allen and Dillon Brooks. With a 7-foot-1 wingspan and standing at 6-foot-8, Prosper can be the ideal switchable NBA defender at those measurements.

On the offensive end of the court, Prosper hasn't been much of a contributor in his small sample size with the Mavericks. However, he did display some strong outside shooting in the 2023-24 G League season, shooting 42.5% from beyond the arc on just over five attempts per game.

Learning from Jaren Jackson Jr. would be the ideal mentor for Prosper, especially with how Jackson Jr. impacts the game from both ends of the floor. If he's able to develop and become a quality 3&D player for Memphis, that'd be a major win for this front office.

This article first appeared on Memphis Grizzlies on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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