If 41-year-old LeBron James were to leave Los Angeles and play for another franchise, it definitely wouldn’t be the Memphis Grizzlies. If the Grizzlies had drafted an 18-year-old LeBron, he still might not have gone.
While golfing on the “Bob Does Sports” YouTube show, James said he might have pulled an “Eli Manning” and refused to play for Memphis if the Grizzlies had won the 2003 lottery and selected him No. 1 overall.
Advertisement
“(The Grizzlies’) best chance would have been in 2003 if they had won the (NBA draft) lottery,” James remarked, laughing. “And I might’ve pulled an Eli Manning and not shown up.”
LeBron James on playing the Grizzlies:
“I’m f***ing 41 years of age. You think I want to do sh** in Memphis on a random Thursday? I’m not the first guy in the NBA to talk about this. You guys got to move the team… go over to Nashville already.”
(via @leaguealerts) pic.twitter.com/ZN5y5vRg2p
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) April 2, 2026
James was referring to the 2004 NFL Draft, when quarterback Eli Manning and his agent famously told the San Diego Chargers he would not play for them even if selected No. 1 overall out of Ole Miss. The Chargers picked him anyway, but traded him on draft day to the New York Giants for Philip Rivers.
{“endpoint”:”https://api-prd-nyt.theathletic.com/graphql”}
That wasn’t all James had to say about Memphis. The 23-year veteran lamented any trip he has to take to the city, and said that other players shared his sentiments. He even suggested the Grizzlies should move 200 miles east to Nashville, the capital and most populous city in Tennessee. Nashville, known as “Music City” for its deep-rooted history in the country music industry, is home to more than two million people in its greater metro area. The Memphis metro area has about 1.3 million residents, according to Data USA.
“Staying at the f—ing Hyatt at 41 years old, you think I want to do that s—?” James said. “Being in Memphis on a random-a– Thursday. I’m not even the first guy to talk about this in the NBA. We’re all like, ‘You guys have to move.’”
He also mused that Nashville would be a better home for the Grizzlies because of its already established sports culture. Nashville has the NFL’s Tennessee Titans and the NHL’s Predators, as well as major college athletics such as Vanderbilt of the SEC.
“Go over to Nashville,” the four-time MVP said. “… They got everything.”
Advertisement
The Grizzlies were founded in 1995 in Vancouver during the NBA’s expansion into Canada, which also saw the birth of the Toronto Raptors. The franchise was originally owned by Vancouver Canucks owner Arthur Griffiths, who eventually sold Orca Bay Sports and Entertainment to Seattle-based John McCaw Jr., who assumed control of the Grizzlies in 1996.
The franchise played six seasons in Vancouver before a poor financial situation, along with poor performances and attendance, forced a sale to Chicago-based billionaire Michael Heisley for $160 million. Heisley promptly relocated the franchise to Memphis in 2001 because the city offered a dedicated plan to build a new arena, which became FedExForum.
Heisley later sold the Grizzlies to Robert Pera in 2012 for approximately $350 million.
The Grizzlies’ pick in 2003 was owned by the Detroit Pistons because of a conditional trade made in 1997, when the team was still in Vancouver. In that deal, the Grizzlies sent a future first-round pick to Detroit for forward Otis Thorpe. The pick was top-1 protected in 2002 and eventually became Detroit’s No. 2 overall pick in 2003, which they used to select Darko Miličić in a top-five class that also included future Hall of Famers Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. James will eventually join that list once he retires.