During a recent appearance on “Bob Does Sports,” LeBron James savagely dissed the city of Memphis and said that the Memphis Grizzlies should move to Nashville, which happens to be the most populous city in the state of Tennessee. He even suggested that had the Grizzlies won the No. 1 pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, he might have refused to play for them.
In response, Grizzlies coach Tuomas Iisalo, who has been at the helm of the team since late last season, defended Memphis and said that his experience in the area has been a positive one, per ESPN.
“I can say from my own perspective that I have the complete opposite — 180-degree perspective on that,” Iisalo said. “The Memphis where we have arrived less than two years ago has been very warm. Very welcoming.”
He seems very opposed to the idea of the Grizzlies relocating.
“All I can say is Memphis is the right place for the Grizzlies,” Iisalo said.
In addition, Darko Rajakovic, who was an assistant coach with the Grizzlies for three seasons starting with the 2020-21 campaign, said he enjoyed several aspects of his time in Memphis.
“I don’t care what the rest of the world thinks,” Rajakovic said. “I love the people of Memphis. I love the food. I love every single time I come over here.”
Just three years ago, when Rajakovic was in his final season as an assistant under Taylor Jenkins, the Grizzlies were starting to look like a budding contender. But that spring, James’ Los Angeles Lakers upset them in the first round of the playoffs, and since then, they have dramatically declined. Star guard Ja Morant has been riddled by injuries and off-the-court incidents, and his supporting cast has been underwhelming.
Advertisement
The team currently has a 25-52 record, which puts it in 11th place in the Western Conference, and it is 11 games behind the Golden State Warriors for the final play-in tournament spot.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Two NBA coaches respond to LeBron James’ diss of Memphis