The Memphis Grizzlies took the floor Saturday night in throwback white Vancouver jerseys to commemorate the franchise’s 30-year anniversary. As it turns out, Vancouver wasn’t the only throwback being honored at FedExForum.

Ja Morant was twisting in the air and catching alley-oops. Memphis was blocking balls and intercepting passes. Even two-way center Jay Huff threw down multiple reverse dunks in the Grizzlies’ 124-111 win over the Orlando Magic.

This wasn’t the 27-55 Grizzlies of last season. This was the other throwback — a reminder of the highlight-creating squads that put fear in NBA opponents two and three seasons ago.

“Everybody around the league before I got here knew that the Grizzlies played fast, they played explosive, and if you wasn’t careful they were going to show out on you — on your home court or theirs,” guard Marcus Smart said. “To be on the other side to be with them, it’s a great feeling.”

Balanced attack

In order for the highlights to happen, sound basketball plays set the tone. The Grizzlies executed defensively to create the pace they wanted on the offensive end. That pace led to several players getting involved.

The Grizzlies finished with 38 assists, their most since April 2023. At the end of the third quarter, five players were tied with a team-high 11 points.

“My favorite thing was the balanced attack,” guard Desmond Bane said. “We wanted to make sure we had everyone involved tonight.”

Bane said that after the loss to the Houston Rockets on Friday, he and Morant talked about getting more teammates in the plans. Against Houston, they felt they got too dependent on isolation scoring. Against the Magic, 11 Grizzlies players scored field goals.

Welcome back, Jaren Jackson Jr.

For the first time this season, the Grizzlies had their core three players together. Bane and Morant were joined by Jaren Jackson Jr., who had been out with a hamstring injury. The “block panther” didn’t record a block in his first game back, but his impact was felt on both ends. He was a team-high plus-26 in 23 minutes, and finished with 13 points and four rebounds.

Having Jackson available made for easier rotation decisions and more depth, but it was seeing the 6-foot-11 forward on the floor with Morant and Bane again that stood out. The trio played just nine games together last season after previously emerging as one of the NBA's most exciting young cores.

“For me, being out there with them is huge.” Jackson said. “It brought back a lot of memories of all these years of playing with them.”

The unsung heroes

Memphis is short-handed right now. The bench is missing one of the league’s top shooters in Luke Kennard; 2023-24 second-team All-Rookie member GG Jackson; and breakout two-way guard Vince Williams Jr.

But somehow, the Grizzlies keep rolling. Huff had another strong performance, and Santi Aldama scored 22 points, the second time in three games he has led the team in scoring.

Scotty Pippen Jr. finished with 11 points and 12 assists, further solidifying his role as the backup point guard.

Just like the two Memphis teams that captured No. 2 seeds in the Western Conference before last season, players are rising to the occasion when their names are called. The Grizzlies have showcased solid depth through three games, but the rich will be getting richer, according to Bane.

“We ain’t close to having the band back together,” he said. “ . . . We got some hitters still on the way.”

Damichael Cole is the Memphis Grizzlies beat writer for The Commercial Appeal. Contact Damichael at damichael.cole@commercialappeal.com. Follow Damichael on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DamichaelC.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis Grizzlies put on a show, led by Ja Morant in home opener