The Memphis Grizzlies are rolling out a week of free festivities across the Mid-South as they count down to their 2026-27 home opener, with giveaways, youth clinics and civic events stacked between now and tip-off. Grizz Week, presented by Coca-Cola, leads into the regular-season opener at FedExForum on October 21 at 7 p.m., when Memphis hosts the Utah Jazz.
According to FOX13 Memphis, the team's Back to Basketball sweepstakes started Thursday and runs through fans following @memgrizz on social media for a chance to win prizes, including an autographed Cedric Coward jersey and a $100 Grizz Den gift card. Coward, acquired by Memphis on draft night in June 2025, went on to earn NBA All-Rookie team honors during the 2025-26 season after playing college basketball at Washington State, per 247Sports. That opening-night matchup also doubles as the regular-season debut for rookie Cameron Boozer, the No. 3 overall pick out of Duke, and the return of former Grizzly Jaren Jackson Jr., who now suits up for Utah, according to I Love Memphis Blog.
Preseason Finale and Weekend Festivals
Before any of that, the Grizzlies close out the preseason at home against the Charlotte Hornets on Friday at 7 p.m., the FOX13 Memphis report notes. The following day brings Boo at the Ballpark, a free Halloween festival at AutoZone Park starting at noon with trick-or-treating, pumpkin decorating and costume contests, while the LeBonheur Pumpkin Run takes over 1000 Ridgeway Loop from 8 to 10 a.m. that same Saturday.
Youth basketball gets its moment Sunday with the Junior Grizzlies Youth Basketball Clinic at Tom Lee Park at 1 p.m., a free session for kids ages 6 to 14. Participants receive a Grizzlies promotional item and tickets to opening night, though the station's report notes registration is required and space is limited. That evening, the Claw Crew appears at Zoo Boo at the Memphis Zoo from 6 to 9:30 p.m.
Civic Push Ties Into #GrizzVotes
The week also carries a civic thread. The Grizzlies have operated early voting since Wednesday, and the team's #GrizzVotes program will station the Claw Crew at several polling locations, with Monday designated as the Grizzlies Early Voting Day of Action. Per the same account, the team is handing out Grizzlies-themed “I Voted” stickers at all early voting sites that day. The Claw Crew is also scheduled to appear at New Bethal Missionary Baptist Church on Friday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church on Monday during the same hours, and at White Station Church of Christ on opening day, also from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
That voter push builds on a broader civic effort the franchise has run this fall. The #GrizzVotes initiative previously organized a “Get Rev'd Up” voter education rally at FedExForum, where players helped register eligible Memphis-Shelby County Schools students ahead of Tennessee's voter registration deadline, according to WATN-TV. Grizz Week itself follows a larger Grizz Around Town campaign that staged 23 fan events across Shelby County between late August and mid-October, spanning municipalities including Germantown and Memphis.
School Spirit Day and the Ticket Scramble
Tuesday is Grizzlies School Spirit Day, with the team asking all area school districts to decorate and wear Grizzlies gear. Fans chasing tickets have another avenue, too: top social media posts tagging both @memgrizz and @grizzcommunity could win 100 tickets to opening night, per the FOX13 Memphis report.
The Claw Crew will fan out across the region giving away swag and tickets at several stops on Tuesday and Wednesday, hitting 676 N. Germantown Pkwy. in Cordova from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., 3685 S. Houston Levee Rd. in Collierville from noon to 2 p.m., and 465 Stateline Rd. W. in Southaven, Mississippi, from 4 to 6 p.m. On opening day, the mascot crew visits the Harbor Town roundabout from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. and 3444 Plaza Ave. in Memphis from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Grizz Week closes with Grit Grind n' Glow, a free two-mile run and walk from FedExForum to Riverside Drive and back, organized alongside the Downtown Memphis Commission and 901 Run Club. Season tickets, partial plans and single-game tickets, including seats for opening night, are currently on sale through grizzlies.com/tickets, with full Grizz Week details available at grizzlies.com/grizz-week.
A Season Shaped By Off-Court Changes
The buildup arrives as the Grizzlies enter a new chapter both on and off the floor. In August, the team ended its 10-year sports medicine contract with OrthoSouth seven years early to return to Campbell Clinic, which had served the franchise for 21 years through 2022, including during its “Grit and Grind” era, as Hoodline previously reported. The move followed severe injury struggles in recent seasons, according to WATN-TV.
Beyond this week's events, the franchise's community investments have continued to stack up. In September, the Grizzlies and FedEx unveiled a new outdoor Dream Court and a Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.-inspired mural, created by New Orleans artist Siphne Sylve, at Northeast Preparatory Academy, an alternative school that previously lacked a gym. The team also hosted its annual Grizzlies Garage Sale at FedExForum in August, selling discounted gear and memorabilia to raise money for local youth mentoring programs, though the sale required electronic payment only.
Looking Ahead to NBA Cup and MLK Day
Once the regular season tips off, Memphis will host two home Emirates NBA Cup group-play games, facing the Oklahoma City Thunder on November 6 and the Los Angeles Clippers on November 25. The franchise will also stage its 24th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration Game on January 18, 2027, against the Houston Rockets in a nationally televised matchup, continuing what has become a signature annual tradition at FedExForum.
All of this comes against the backdrop of a larger conversation about the arena's future. Local leaders and team officials agreed last year on a proposed $550 million renovation plan for FedExForum, spread over seven to ten years and backed by $80 million in initial state repair funding, aimed at modernizing the building and securing a long-term lease extension past 2029, a process Hoodline has covered in depth.
