MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The spotlight is on Memphis Wednesday night as the Brooklyn Nets come to town to face the Grizzlies. Memphis will face Nets stars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving and the matchup brought ESPN and their stars to the Bluff City.
ESPN called their day of coverage "Memphis Grizzlies All-Access," and featured the network's talent like Malika Andrews, Stephen A. Smith and Jalen Rose doing special segments and giving a behind the scenes look at the team.
The national stage is a big deal for a small-market team like Memphis.
Rose spent Wednesday in the ABC24 studio doing live hits for ESPN and recording his show "Jalen and Jacoby," featuring his co-host David Jacoby.
After his day of shooting, he sat down with ABC24 to breakdown why he thinks Memphis is a team and a city on the rise.
It, of course, starts with resident superstar Ja Morant, who Rose said is "wise beyond his years."
He has immense respect for the All-Star point guard comparing him to former superstars (and MVPs) Derrick Rose and Allen Iverson.
"Ja is a combination of the athleticism of Derrick Rose, and the charisma of Allen Iverson," Rose said. "He reminds me of a combination of both of those guys."
He admired Morant's ability to play "off-schedule," meaning it looks like Morant is someone used to playing pick-up and not necessarily beholden to the script of an offense. On top of the scoring, he admires Morant's leadership.
"One of the top players in the league, at his build, at scoring in the paint, but also a magnetic leader, that when he has a career high 50 points, they're taking a team photo at half court and so when I see that, that's special," Rose said.
The ESPN analyst thinks the Grizzlies are built to win now and can potentially have a deep playoff run this year.
Memphis is second in the Western Conference despite having one of the youngest rosters in the league. No player is older than 28-years-old.
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Rose acknowledged that young teams do struggle, but thinks the Grizzlies could be built for the long haul similar to fellow small market underdog and the defending NBA champions - the Milwaukee Bucks.
"Ja ain't going nowhere, that's what you need," Rose said. "You need investment from your best player. That's what the Bucks had. Remember, everybody was saying 'Giannis should leave,' and not only did he stay, he resigned before the season."
"That's what I see here in Memphis," Rose said. "An investment from Ja Morant, a superstar you can build around, great young talent players...and now you have something special going for them."
See more of that conversation below: