Mike Conley tops the list when it comes to Grizzlies’ steals history.
The Grizzlies’ franchise history traces its roots to Vancouver, where the team played its first six seasons. Throughout its nearly 30 years in existence, the team has frequently been renowned for top-shelf defense.
Here’s a closer look at the Grizzlies’ top five career steal leaders, a list replete with prominent names:
The seemingly ageless Mike Conley continues to hold down a starting role with the Minnesota Timberwolves during the 2024-25 season, but the roots of his impressive career are in Memphis. Conley’s defensive prowess was evident early in his 12-year Grizzlies tenure, as he was already averaging 1.1 steals per game by his second season and recorded at least 1.4 per contest – including a career-high 2.2 per game twice – over the next five seasons. Conley would go on to wrap up his successful team tenure never averaging less than 1.0 steal per game in his remaining five seasons.
Tony Allen was another defensive wizard who frequently teamed up with Conley to wreak havoc on the opposition. “The Grindfather” would eventually finish his career by earning NBA All-Defensive Team honors on six occasions, with his trio of First-Team nods coming during his time with the Grizzlies. Allen’s will to force turnovers got him there, as he recorded between 1.5 and a career-high 2.0 steals per contest in each of his seven Memphis seasons.
Marc Gasol’s name is featured prominently throughout the Grizzlies’ record books, and his work in steals is certainly no exception. The talented Spaniard vaulted to prominence during his 10-plus seasons with the Grizzlies, and while he was more renowned for his blocks on the defensive end, Gasol also recorded at least 1.0 steals per game over six different seasons in Memphis.
Rudy Gay began a 17-year NBA career with the Grizzlies, where he laid the foundation for a well-earned reputation as a versatile and reliable contributor on both ends of the floor. Gay fell just short of averaging a steal per game as a rookie, but he rectified that matter by logging between 1.2 and 1.7 per contest in each of his remaining five-plus Grizzlies seasons.
Shane Battier was officially the sixth overall pick of the Vancouver Grizzlies in the 2001 NBA Draft, shortly before the team relocated to Memphis later in the summer. Battier would develop into a highly versatile asset who could contribute on both ends of the floor, and he immediately made his mark on the defensive end as a rookie with a career-high 1.6 steals per contest. The Duke product would go on to average between 1.1 and 1.3 steals per game in the remaining four seasons of his first Grizzlies stint, and he added 16 more pilfers during his 23-game return during the latter portion of the 2010-11 season.
