The Memphis Grizzlies announced Friday that they’ve “parted ways” with head coach Taylor Jenkins after five-plus seasons.
“I’m genuinely appreciative of Taylor’s contributions to this team and this city over the past six seasons. This was a difficult decision, given the consistent and tangible development of our players and overall success under Taylor’s leadership. I wish Taylor the very best moving forward,” Grizzlies president and general manager Zach Kleiman said in a statement.
An interim head coach has not been named.
The Grizzlies are 44-29 this season, good for the fifth seed in the Western Conference. On Thursday, Memphis lost on the road to the Oklahoma City Thunder, 125-104, and has lost five of its last seven games.
Over Jenkins’ five-plus seasons in Memphis, the team is a combined 250-214 in the regular season and 9-14 in the postseason. The 250 wins as a head coach for Jenkins are a franchise record. Memphis has made the playoffs in three of the past five full seasons and is on pace to make it four of the past six seasons.
Big man Jaren Jackson Jr., the 2022-23 NBA Defensive Player of the Year, leads the Grizzlies in scoring this season (22.4 points per game) and was named a reserve for this year’s NBA All-Star Game roster.
Jenkins, 40, is the second NBA head coach to be fired this season, the other being Mike Brown (Sacramento Kings). Prior to becoming the Grizzlies’ head coach for the 2019-20 season, Jenkins was an assistant coach with the Atlanta Hawks for five seasons and the Milwaukee Bucks for one season.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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