After Knight's departure and the season, the team hired former Los Angeles Laker and Hall of Famer Jerry West as general manager in 2002, who later received the 2003–04 NBA Executive of the Year Award.

Their first round pick in the 2003 NBA draft, in which they could have had their choice of future All-Stars Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, or Dwyane Wade, had been traded to the Detroit Pistons in 1997 for Otis Thorpe.

At the time of his resignation, the Grizzlies had a losing record but West hired TNT analyst and former coach Mike Fratello to replace Brown.

While the Grizzlies lost Wells, Williams, Stromile Swift, and James Posey, they acquired Damon Stoudamire, Bobby Jackson, Hakim Warrick, and Eddie Jones.

Following the 2006 NBA draft, Jerry West traded Shane Battier to the Houston Rockets for their first-round pick Rudy Gay and Stromile Swift.

With new acquisition Zach Randolph playing at an All-Star level, Marc Gasol's improvement, and a commitment to defense, the Grizzlies were in playoff contention for much of the 2009–10 season, before finishing 10th in the Western Conference with a win–loss record of 40–42.

The Grizzlies found their way back into the post-season for the first time in five years in the 2010–11 season after a 101–96 home victory over the Sacramento Kings on April 8, 2011.

[20] While in the playoff hunt in February 2011, the Grizzlies traded Hasheem Thabeet, DeMarre Carroll, and a protected future first-round pick to the Houston Rockets for Shane Battier, and Ishmael Smith.

On June 11, Michael Heisley reportedly had an agreement in principle to sell the Memphis Grizzlies to communications technology magnate Robert J. Pera, who at 34 had a spot on Forbes' 2012 list of the 10 youngest billionaires in the world.

On August 23, Pera reached an agreement with a group of local partners including J.R. "Pitt" Hyde, Staley Cates, Ed Dobbs, Duncan Williams and Billy Orgel.

On January 23, 2013, the Grizzlies acquired Jon Leuer from the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Marreese Speights, Wayne Ellington, Josh Selby, and a future first-round pick.

[31] On January 30, the Grizzlies traded Rudy Gay and Hamed Haddadi to the Toronto Raptors in a three team deal also involving the Detroit Pistons.

The Grizzlies acquired Tayshaun Prince and Austin Daye from the Pistons and Ed Davis and a future second-round pick from the Raptors.

Memphis then went on to the Western Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history when they defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 4–1 in their semi-finals series.

On October 29, 2014, the Grizzlies defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 105–101 for the franchise's first victory in a season opener since 2000, the year before the team moved to Memphis.

[34] On July 6, 2017, the team's management announced that Randolph's number 50 jersey would be retired in the future after he became a free agent,[35] and eventually signed with the Sacramento Kings.

The Grizzlies tried to be competitive again with Conley and others back in the beginning of the 2018–19 season, but were on the outside looking in as the trade deadline approached and they were standing at the 14th seed with a 22–33 record by February 5.

The Grizzlies decided to move on from their two franchise players and the last remnants of the "Grit and Grind" era with Marc Gasol getting traded to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Jonas Valančiūnas, Delon Wright, C. J.

[38] After the season, on July 6, Mike Conley Jr. was traded to the Utah Jazz in exchange for Grayson Allen, Kyle Korver, Jae Crowder and the 23rd pick of the 2019 NBA draft.

B. Bickerstaff was relieved from his duties as head coach and general manager Chris Wallace was reallocated to a role exclusively in player scouting.

[44][45] The Grizzlies rebuilt their roster with a young core consisting of Morant, Clarke, Allen, Dillon Brooks, and Jaren Jackson Jr.

[46] They finished in ninth place in the Western Conference and had a chance to make it to the 2020 NBA playoffs, needing to win two games against the Portland Trail Blazers to advance.

At the conclusion of the season, Morant, who averaged 17.8 points and 7.3 assists per game, was named the NBA Rookie of the Year, earning 99 out of 100 first place votes on the ballot.

The letters and numbers employed a distinct split-letter style reminiscent of the Toronto Blue Jays and Cleveland Cavaliers' 1990s uniforms.

Both uniforms featured three alternating lines on the beltline, which spelled "MEM", the primary logo on the left leg, and asymmetrical striping.

In 2022, the "Statement" uniform was modified, featuring the full team name ("Memphis" in gold, "Grizzlies" in navy/smoke/navy split letters) in front, the primary logo on the right leg, and "MEM" lines on the striping and beltline.

In the 2020–21 season, the Grizzlies returned to wearing "City" uniforms, this time with a black base, metallic gold lettering and turquoise trim as a tribute to Isaac Hayes and Stax Records.

The TV broadcast crew is play-by-play announcer Pete Pranica, analyst Brevin Knight and sideline reporter Rob Fischer.

[75] The popular song by Memphis rapper Al Kapone from the locally filmed Hustle & Flow has become a standard during Grizzlies games since erupting as a spontaneous chant among fans during the 2013 playoff series against the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Grizzlies are also the first team to draw an ejection on Clippers guard Chris Paul after he elbowed Marc Gasol in the ribs in the closing minutes of Game 6.