The NBA just got hit with a curveball no one saw coming. The Memphis Grizzlies, sitting comfortably in the Western Conference playoff race, just fired head coach Taylor Jenkins. It wasn’t a rumor, it wasn’t a slow-building storyline. It was a blindsiding decision that sent shockwaves through the league.

And here’s the kicker—Jenkins wasn’t just some stopgap coach. He was the winningest coach in franchise history, a guy who helped mold this young Grizzlies squad into a legitimate contender. His firing? Completely unexpected. Even the players had no clue what was coming. Some of them found out on social media.

When the news broke, disbelief spread fast. Grizzlies players were stunned, with many learning about it the same way fans did—through their phones and TVs. Ja Morant, the face of the franchise, had just two words when he found out: “Oh sh–.” That reaction pretty much summed up how the entire NBA felt. “Ja was surprised,” a team source said. “Ja loves him.”

It wasn’t just Memphis that was caught off guard. Coaches around the league couldn’t wrap their heads around the decision either. Mike Budenholzer, who coached Jenkins as an assistant in Atlanta and Milwaukee, didn’t hold back. “I’m shocked,” Budenholzer said. “His record speaks for itself. The player development, the way they compete—it’s a reflection of Taylor. You could put his five or six-year run up against any NBA franchise.”

Tom Thibodeau echoed that sentiment, calling it “unfortunate” and making it clear that Jenkins has “established himself as a great coach in this league.”

So, if everyone is in disbelief… what exactly led to this move?

How did Taylor Jenkins go from franchise hero to the unemployment line?

Jenkins wasn’t coaching a team on the verge of collapse. The Grizzlies were 44-29, tied with the Lakers for the fifth-best record in the West. But if you zoom in on the last few weeks, the picture starts to change. Memphis had lost five of its last seven games. Since the All-Star break, they’d gone 8-11, slipping from the second seed down to fifth.

The struggles weren’t just about wins and losses, though. There were deeper cracks forming.

For one, Memphis had the worst record among Western Conference playoff teams when facing opponents above .500, sitting at 11-20. That’s a major red flag for a squad with championship aspirations. Their once-dominant defense had also collapsed, going from one of the best in the league pre-All-Star break to giving up 118.9 points per 100 possessions in the 19 games since.

The locker room wasn’t exactly stable, either. GG Jackson, coming off an All-Rookie season, was unexpectedly sent to the G League after growing frustrated with his role. Desmond Bane and Santi Aldama had to be separated on the bench after an altercation during a win against the Jazz. The chemistry overall? Not great.

Even Morant, the franchise cornerstone, had his own frustrations. He’s missed 30 games this season, and multiple sources have indicated he felt pushed to play when he wasn’t ready. After a tough loss to the Thunder earlier this month, a visibly frustrated Morant admitted, “I shouldn’t have played.”

The Grizzlies brought in Zach Edey, a 7-foot-4 rookie drafted to be a force in the paint. The plan? Punish smaller teams instead of going small themselves. But Jenkins didn’t exactly follow that blueprint. Despite Edey starting 47 games, he was suddenly coming off the bench in the past three.

Even the pick-and-roll offense—something Edey thrives in—saw a decline in usage under Jenkins. When the front office had one vision for the team’s identity and the coaching staff had another, tension was bound to rise.

And then, there was the blame game. “Zach (Kleiman) blamed Taylor. Taylor blamed Zach. No one takes accountability for absolutely anything,” a league source said.

With Jenkins gone, assistant coach Tuomas Iisalo has been named the interim head coach. He’s highly regarded—having won Coach of the Year in Finland before joining Memphis—but stepping into this situation with just nine games left? That’s a massive challenge.

The timing couldn’t be worse. The Grizzlies are about to face the Lakers, Clippers, Jazz, and Thunder in a stretch that could define their playoff fate. If this move doesn’t immediately light a fire under the team, Memphis could find itself stumbling into the postseason at the worst possible time.

For Jenkins, this isn’t the end. The reaction from players, coaches, and analysts makes it clear—he’ll have no trouble finding his next job. But for the Grizzlies? That’s where the uncertainty begins.

This was a bold decision. If it backfires, they’ll have to live with it. If it works? Then maybe—just maybe—they knew something no one else did.