The Memphis Grizzlies are walking away from OrthoSouth and heading back to Campbell Clinic to handle player medical care, ending a partnership that was supposed to run for a decade but lasted only three years. The move puts the franchise back in the hands of the orthopedic group that managed Grizzlies healthcare for 21 straight years, from the team's 2001 relocation to Memphis through 2022.
According to the Daily Memphian, the Grizzlies signed with OrthoSouth in September 2023 to serve as the team's official orthopedics and sports medicine provider under a 10-year strategic agreement, but that contract has now been terminated roughly seven years ahead of schedule. Campbell Clinic had been the team's medical partner throughout the franchise's iconic Grit and Grind era before OrthoSouth took over, per the Daily Memphian's report.
A Contract That Came With Sponsorship Strings
The 2023 deal with OrthoSouth was never just about medicine. It extended into major corporate sponsorships, including starting lineup sponsorships, branded spaces inside FedExForum, and digital media integrations with Grind City Media, the same report notes. Unwinding those commercial ties alongside the clinical relationship adds a layer of complexity to the split that has not yet been publicly detailed.
OrthoSouth, for its part, isn't slowing down. The network is scheduled to open its 10th regional clinic in Collierville this September, continuing to expand its Mid-South footprint even after losing its marquee NBA client, according to OrthoSouth's own announcement.
The Injury Crisis That Preceded the Split
The OrthoSouth era coincided with some of the roughest injury luck in franchise history. During the 2023-24 season, the Grizzlies used a record 33 players and deployed more than 50 different starting lineups while missing over 400 total player-games to injury, according to the Memphis Flyer. Stars Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, Marcus Smart, Steven Adams, and Brandon Clarke all missed extended stretches that season.
That crisis appears to have prompted more than just a change in medical providers. In June, the Grizzlies hired Mike Curtis as head of player health and performance, replacing Eric Oetter, who had spent a decade as the team's Vice President of Sports Medicine. Curtis previously worked as the Grizzlies' head strength and conditioning coach from 2002 to 2008 before spending 17 years at the University of Virginia, where he earned a Ph.D. in kinesiology in 2023 and rose to Director for Health, Performance, Optimization, and Innovation by 2025, according to the Virginia Cavaliers' official athletic site.
Reuniting Memphis Sports Under One Provider
Founded in Memphis in 1909 by Dr. Willis C. Campbell, Campbell Clinic now employs more than 140 providers and 1,200 staff across 30 locations spanning Tennessee, Mississippi, and Virginia, per Campbell Clinic's own account of its operations. The practice traces its prestige back to its founder, who co-founded the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons in 1933 as its first president and established the nation's first orthopedic residency program in Memphis in 1924.
Bringing the Grizzlies back into the fold also reunites Memphis' major sports institutions under a single medical umbrella. Campbell Clinic already serves as the official sports medicine provider for University of Memphis Athletics, the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, and the Memphis Redbirds, meaning the city's flagship professional and collegiate programs now share the same orthopedic partner.
Neither side has publicly detailed the financial terms involved in ending the OrthoSouth agreement early, and it remains to be seen exactly how Curtis and Campbell Clinic will adjust day-to-day training and rehabilitation protocols to keep core players like Morant, Bane, and Jaren Jackson Jr. on the floor. For a franchise that lost hundreds of player-games to injury in a single season, the stakes attached to getting this reset right are hard to overstate.
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