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In honor of James’ visit, here is a look back at five of the most memorable games between LeBron and the Grizzlies over the years.
1. Rudy Gay’s buzzer-beater over LeBron – Nov. 20, 2010
James is 19-9 all-time against the Grizzlies, but arguably his most memorable loss in Memphis came as the Grizzlies were mired in a five-game losing streak early in the 2010-11 season.
Gay passed to Marc Gasol on a sideinbounds play with 5.5 seconds left. Gasol passed back to Gay, who was guarded by James. Gay dribbled around the arc and elevated for a contested jumper at the buzzer.
He drilled it, lifting the Grizzlies to a 97-95 win.
"I stayed on (Gay's) hip the whole time," James said. "I used my length to contest his shot. Give him credit. He made a big shot."
The win sparked a three-game winning streak that helped Memphis turn its season around on the way to a 46-36 record and a playoff appearance following a four-year postseason drought.
It was a team effort for the Grizzlies, who had six players in double figures after O.J. Mayo and Zach Randolph were pulled from the starting lineup for being late to the morning shootaround.
Current Grizzlies assistant Jerry Stackhouse started for the Heat that night, scoring two points in 19 minutes
Miami went on the NBA Finals, where it lost to the Mavericks in six games.
2. Grizzlies roar back from 24 down – Nov. 29, 2003
Playing shorthanded without key players Lorenzen Wright and Jason Williams, the Grizzlies trailed 35-14 at the end of the first quarter and by as many as 24 points in the second.
But Stromile Swift, Mike Miller, Shane Battier and Pau Gasol each contributed between 19 and 37 points as the Grizzlies roared back to beat James and the Cavaliers 122-115 in double-overtime in Cleveland.
"We're a team that never says the game is over," then-Grizzlies coach Hubie Brown said. "I'm proud of our character."
3. Weird Grizzlies lineup stuns LeBron in Cleveland – March 7, 2016
The Grizzlies dressed eight players and won 106-103 with a starting lineup of Mario Chalmers, Tony Allen, P.J. Hairston, JaMychal Green and Ryan Hollins.
In his first game back after missing eight contests due to knee soreness, Allen scored a team-high 26 points to lead the Grizzlies.
Stars Kyrie Irving (27) and James (28) each scored more than Allen, but it wasn’t enough for the Cavaliers.
“This is big-time for us,” said Vince Carter, who scored 15 points off the bench for the Grizzlies. “The one thing we said to the young guys was just play hard and we’ll see what happens.”
5. LeBron goes for 51 – Jan. 15, 2008
James racked up 51 points on 18of-28 shooting in a 132-124, Cavaliers overtime victory at FedExForum
Memphis countered with 30 points from Rudy Gay, 26 from Juan Carlos Navarro and a then-career high 20 from rookie point guard Mike Conley.
“LeBron James ran out of bullets at the end of the fourth quarter,” former Commercial Appeal Grizzlies beat writer Ronald Tillery wrote. “He reloaded in overtime - even using a slingshot at times to weaken the Grizzlies.”
James hit 6-of-12 shots from beyond the arc in the game.
Reach Grizzlies beat writer David Cobb at david.cobb@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @DavidWCobb.