The Grizzlies gather around teammate Tyus Jones during a postgame interview in December.

You see it in the way the Memphis Grizzlies do those walk-off, post-victory TV hits, one player being grabbed for the quick interview but others sticking around, gathering to join in or generally enjoy the moment.

You see it in the final minutes of an unexpected blowout victory of Milwaukee, a 142-101 thrashing in which their bench guys synced up with the “wave” orchestrated by the FedEx Forum crowd to amuse itself.

The Grizzlies bench are doing 'The Wave' with the fans during their blowout against the Bucks 🌊pic.twitter.com/glSOVO1aR1

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) December 16, 2022

You see it even in the post-ejection antics of their star point guard, Ja Morant, after being tossed in the first half from Saturday’s game in Oklahoma City. Within minutes from the visitors’ locker room, his father, Tee Morant, held his cell phone in front of a couple of Memphis fans so his son could FaceTime his appreciation for the support.

Ja had Tee Morant FaceTime the fans he was talking to before ejection 😂💯

(via @J_Daniels17, @KyStallings32) pic.twitter.com/FY6739K9N2

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 18, 2022

A few other NBA teams are winning as often as the Grizzlies this season. But nobody is having more obvious fun.

The team woke up in Denver Tuesday atop the Western Conference at 19-10 and poised to face the Nuggets (18-11) for the first time this season (10 p.m. ET, TNT). This is No. 2 in Memphis’ stretch of seven road games out of 10, which began with the Morant-light OKC loss that snapped their seven-game winning streak.

The Grizzlies rank ninth in offensive rating (114.1 points per 100 possessions), fifth in defensive rating (109.5) and fifth in net rating (4.6). Only Boston, Phoenix and New Orleans join them in the Top 10 in all three categories. They are 9-2 since Thanksgiving, and at 29 games, this is the latest the Grizzlies have held first place in their conference (the previous latest was at 12-6 early in 2018-19).

Best of all, this current edition is starting to mount a real challenge to the organization’s most revered era: Grit and Grind.

You remember GNG, right? If not, you’re younger than Morant, because he knows all about it.

“I ain’t that young,” he told NBA.com, smiling. “I know basketball. Just a group of guys pretty much with the same mindset we’re trying to keep here, going out and fighting, pretty much don’t care who we face. We’re going to battle, play really physical, get out and run, very exciting.”

That blue-collar, perfect-for-Memphis crew led by four core performers — Zach Randolph, Mike Conley, Tony Allen and Marc Gasol — remains as beloved as they were successful. And the guys getting all their minutes now are reminded about them daily.

“All the time,” Morant said. “It’s just something we want to take on. Obviously, we’re a whole different team. Way younger. But the way they impacted this city and the game of basketball, we want to do the same. And go out and win a championship.”

That’s the hole in the GNG resume, an NBA title. Otherwise, it was a grand time: 11 series in seven postseasons, with two trips to the West semifinals and one to the conference finals in 2013. From 2010-11 through 2016-17, the Grizzlies posted a .597 winning percentage. Three times they won at least 50 games, with a cumulative mark of 118 games over .500.

That group’s tenacious style was its substance. Allen, the yapping, irritating defensive specialist who had won a ring with Boston in 2008, is credited with creating the nickname from his on-court interview following an overtime victory against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Feb. 8, 2011.

“It’s all heart,” the six-time All-Defense honoree said. “Grit. Grind.”

The Grizzlies had a previous playoff run in their history, with three consecutive appearances from 2004-06. Led by All-Star big man Pau Gasol, that crew went 0-12 in its three postseasons. The GNG group had an identity drawn from the edge with which they played.

“I just remember it being the more physical game,” said Memphis center Steven Adams, who spent the first eight of his 10 NBA seasons as a Grizzlies foe. “Zach and Tony Allen and stuff, it was a tough team. Even the atmosphere, coming into this place, it was like ‘[Bleep], man.’ It was not hostile, but a different feel, really intense. You knew you were in for a real physical game.”

Steven Adams posts up against Zach Randolph during a game in 2014.

And now that Adams is on the other side of it?

“The philosophy’s still the same, the way everyone operates. It’s kind of good, because there’s no bells or whistles or any kind of make-up, if that makes sense. You just get down and you do the work.”

In 2015, Memphis got bumped in the West semifinals by Golden State, then lost to San Antonio in 2016 and 2017. The coaching keys had been flipped from Lionel Hollins to Dave Joerger to David Fizdale, who lasted only 19 games into the 2017-18 season.

Wholesale changes began in 2019. On June 11, coach Taylor Jenkins was hired off Mike Budenholzer’s staff in Milwaukee to replace J.B. Bickerstaff. Two days later, Marc Gasol won the championship, but with the Toronto Raptors – he had been traded in February.

On June 20, picking No. 2 overall, the Grizzlies drafted Morant. Four days after that they traded Conley to Utah to clear the position for the rookie.

Zach Kleiman, 34, the man who made the Jenkins, Morant and Conley moves, as well as every transaction since, had been promoted to head the team’s basketball operations in April 2019. Last season, he became the youngest winner of the NBA’s Executive of the Year Award.

Now, after playoff appearances against the Jazz in 2021 and the Timberwolves and Warriors last spring, Memphis is primed for more. Sticking with the abbreviation, they see themselves as Grizz Next Gen, though it’s simple enough to call them Grit and Grind 2.0.

With Morant in Conley’s role and Adams as the internationally-born big man filling Marc Gasol’s spot, you can connect dots from old to new. Jaren Jackson Jr. plays with strength, like Randolph, but with more defensive commitment and mobility. Dillon Brooks is the designated stopper for most teams’ top scorers. Desmond Bane can stand in for, say, Rudy Gay, with others slotting in from there.

None of them is bothered by comparisons.

The Grizzlies celebrate during a game against the Hawks in December.

“That era meant so much, with so much success here prior to my arrival,” Jenkins said. “You’ve got to build on that foundation of the culture that was built here. The players that led the charge, our fan base was extremely attached to them. … You’re going to see many jerseys up in the rafters from guys who came before us, and that’s something you have to pay homage to and respect.

“But we knew we had a new wave of players coming in. The league was turning in a new direction. So understanding how we still had to embrace that Grit and Grind, because that represented our city, with a next generation of players and athletes, a new style of play. But at our core we wanted ultimate competitors, and that’s been the case since I got here.”

Asked how these Grizzlies relate to those Grizzlies, Jackson said: “Next gen. Run ‘n’ gun. We build off Grit and Grind. I was actually part of that, kind of. I played with Marc, so I’m grandfathered in.”

Said Brandon Clarke, the high-energy sixth man: “You can definitely see our grit every night. We come to play hard. Find ways to win games, even if we’ve got guys down. Very fun team to watch.”

Memphis is nothing if not resourceful, managing to win through the absences of Morant, Jackson and Bane. At home against Miami on Dec. 5, the Grizzlies weren’t fazed having to go without all three. They shoot 3-pointers a little better now than last season, while dominating in the paint thanks to Adams’ offensive rebounds and Morant’s ability to attack, leap and contort himself to floaters, layups and dunks.

“We’re a little bit of everything,” backup point guard Tyus Jones said. “Some nights you’ve got to grind out a game and it’s not going to be pretty. Other nights it’s going to be high scoring, and we feel we have the firepower to put up a lot of points.”

Here’s the most impressive part: The Grizzlies have climbed to the top of the standings without having their preferred starting lineup on the floor for even a minute. Just when Jackson was ready to return from the foot injury that cost him the season’s first 14 games, Bane suffered a sprained big toe that has sidelined him ever since.

It was a challenge last season too, when that quintet — Morant, Adams, Jackson, Bane and Brooks — only logged 108 minutes together. But they had a net rating of +25.1, which should make rivals hope they never get fully healthy.

Bane had taken a leap before he got hurt, averaging 24.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.8 assists as Morant’s backcourt sidekick. With Adams snagging misses, Memphis has finished with fewer offensive boards than its opponent only seven times all season. He also keeps the locker room loose, and the chemistry tight.

“He’s a funny dude, man,” Morant said. “Steve-o is one of a kind. He says some funny stuff. How he acts. Sometimes he just blurts out and he’s saying things randomly.

“We’re a team that likes to have fun and he likes to have fun with us. Kind of the center-point of all the fun.”

Brooks’ value as a defender is evident in the stats. When he’s on the floor, Memphis’ defensive rating is 104.3 and opponents shoot 43.4%. When he’s off, those numbers are 112.6 and 46.1%.

Here’s an example of his impact: When OKC played at Memphis on Dec. 7, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander came in averaging 31.8 points in 14 games, topping 30 in 12 of them. He left that night after scoring 26 on 4-of-14 shooting with five turnovers, and Brooks scored 24 himself.

Dillon Brooks is a pesky defensive force on the perimeter for the Grizzlies.

Jenkins praised Brooks’ preparation, IQ and tenacity. “He and I have great conversations,” the coach said. “If he’s seeing something, we’ll introduce it into the game plan. It’s a collaboration. He’s got that much stake in the game.”

Since Jackson’s season debut on Nov. 15, he is averaging 3.1 blocks, the most in the league. As with Brooks, his on/off impact is dramatic: the Grizzlies’ defense is nine points better with him (101.8 rating) and opponents barely crack 40% shooting, compared to 110.8 and 46.1%.

Last but clearly not least, Morant is a legit Kia MVP candidate and an unlikely source of so many points in the paint. The loss Saturday in Oklahoma City snapped the Grizzlies’ streak of scoring at least 40 points in the paint at 94 consecutive games, the longest since that stat has been tracked (1996-97).

Against the Thunder in Memphis, Morant notched the sixth triple-double of his career, already the most in franchise history. He is averaging 26.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 7.7 assists.

“We celebrated with him in the locker room,” Jenkins shared that night. “He put all the shine on his teammates. He always pushes everything to the team.”

A week later in the rout of Milwaukee, the dazzling guard got his seventh by the end of the third quarter.

“When you’re passing the ball and everybody’s involved everybody’s happy, playing with confidence, you see the team out there playing with such a joy,” Morant said. “And it’s contagious, the ball moving around. I feel like that’s what the great teams do.”

Clarke, Jones and other, mostly younger reserves — Santi Aldama, John Konchar, Ziaire Williams and rookies David Roddy, Jake LaRavia and Kennedy Chandler — flesh out the bench. And with the Grizzlies’ next victory, Jenkins will snap his tie with Joerger (147) for the second most in franchise history, trailing only Hollins (214) among Grizzlies coaches. He’s intense, he rattles off paragraphs of coach jargon in his media interviews, and he clicks with his team.

“He’s a player’s coach,” Jones said. “He instills confidence in every one of us. He just knows how to make you feel comfortable out there and be bought into this system.”

When Jones goes into full kumbaya mode, he stops when he realizes how that sounds. “The spirit in the locker room, the spirit in the organization, it’s a family feeling,” he said. “That’s thrown out there around the NBA, but here you can tell it’s real. People on the outside looking in can see how much joy we have and how guys get along on and off the court.”

There are miles to go and work to be done. Memphis is 13-2 at home but a shaky 6-8 on the road. Its record has been built against the East (11-3) but the West (8-7) is where the Grizzlies’ fate will be determined.

“Everybody’s in good shape, a good rhythm,” Morant said. “As a team, we’ve all been feeling pretty much the same vibe. We’ve been saying it to each other. This is when we’ve got to take off and go on that stride that had us playing so well last year.”

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Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Twitter.

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