The Memphis Grizzlies are reportedly making some major changes to their sports medicine and training staff.
The Memphis Grizzlies appear to have made a new hire to be their head of player health and performance.
The University of Virginia men's basketball account on X relayed that Mike Curtis — UVA men's basketball's longtime head strength and conditioning coach — is heading to Memphis.
The Daily Memphian also shared the news via a Grizzlies spokesperson.
In addition, it sounds like the team is making more changes. The Commercial Appeal reported that the Grizzlies are "overhauling their sports medicine and training staff." Vice president and head of sports medicine Eric Oetter is reportedly among those departing.
Oetter has spent a decade with the team and been praised for his work despite some of Memphis' recent injury woes.
For Curtis, the role with the Grizzlies is a return to an organization that he's familiar with. He was the head strength and conditioning coach for Memphis for six years in the 2000s.
He was later the director of strength and conditioning for the athletic department at the University of Michigan.
As part of his 17-year stint at UVA, he was also named the director for health, performance, optimization and innovation in 2025.
In the 1990s, he was a player on the men's basketball team at UVA for several years.
With such an impressive resume, the new Grizzlies hire will look to make a strong impact as he rejoins the franchise. Memphis knows as well as any team in the NBA that health goes a long way toward success.
This is a busy time for the Grizzlies overall, as the organization is navigating staffing changes, the upcoming draft and the start of free agency soon thereafter. Changes are certain to come in some form, especially with the team picking No. 3 overall in the draft, a selection that will give Memphis a chance to add a potentially team-altering talent.
The only way to go is up for the Grizzlies after they suffered through a 2025-26 season in which they went 25-57 and missed the playoffs. Part of their struggles came due to injury troubles. For example, star guard Ja Morant was limited to just 20 games all season long and didn't appear in a game after January.
If Memphis' injury woes were to improve moving forward, that would provide the franchise with an element of stability that can go a long way toward building a contender.
Curtis — and any other additions the Grizzlies make to their sports medicine and training staff — will certainly do everything in their power to ensure that the team's players are healthy and available for as many games as possible in the coming years.
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