Jahmai Mashack

Jahmai Mashack made his name at Tennessee doing the unglamorous work — four years, 137 games, and a reputation as one of the country's premier perimeter defenders, capped by SEC All-Defensive honors and a Naismith Defensive Player of the Year finalist nod as a senior. Houston took him 59th, dead last, in 2025 before his rights routed to Memphis. He signed a Grizzlies two-way in November and earned rookie minutes on defense-first value, debuting against Sacramento. His eye-catching 13-15-14 triple-double on April 10 deserves an honest asterisk: it came in a 147-101 loss during a late-season game so lopsided that three players logged triple-doubles, an NBA first. The real projection isn't playmaking; it's whether an elite point-of-attack defender shoots well enough to stick. That's his swing skill.