The Index · Live

Richie SaundersMemphis Grizzlies · #6

Guard · 6'4", 190 lb · BYU

Richie Saunders is a guard the Memphis Grizzlies selected 32nd overall (second round) in the 2026 NBA draft out of BYU. An incoming rookie for 2026-27 — projected role, ratings and outlook.

Memphis Grizzlies roster More Guards

MVP race · #354Guard rank · #154Balladex Impact · 39

⚖ Quick compare

Analysis by Beau Thoutt · Balladex

◆ Rated

Memphis Grizzlies · #6 · Guard

Richie Saunders

Season avg— · no NBA seasons yet — prospect

Career avg— · career line pending debut

Live win probabilityLakers 66%

Balladex model · projected 119–116 · 98.8 pace

Tonight's projectionmodel

6.4pts

2.2reb

2.4ast

34%win

Tonight's matchup · who he'll mainly guardhead-to-head

Richie Saunders

Memphis Grizzlies · Guard

Austin Reaves

Los Angeles Lakers · Average defender

Category breakout

Head-to-head history

Home/away splits from recent games; live grades from the DNA model.

LADDER#354 in the Balladex MVP raceIMPACTBalladex Impact 39 — Role player tierINDEXRichie Saunders · Memphis GrizzliesLADDER#354 in the Balladex MVP raceIMPACTBalladex Impact 39 — Role player tierINDEXRichie Saunders · Memphis Grizzlies

Scouting report

Richie Saunders — the report card

Read his whole game at a glance, then dive into any skill. Grades from the DNA model + real production.

Depth guard prospect · Impact 39

Richie Saunders is a guard the Memphis Grizzlies selected 32nd overall (second round) in the 2026 NBA draft out of BYU. An incoming rookie for 2026-27

Offense

Defense

Feel / IQ

Playmaking

Below average creator

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Scoring

Below average scorer

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Rebounding

Below average on the glass

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3PT / spacing

Below average spacing

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Perimeter D

Below average on the perimeter

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Paint / rim D

Below average at the rim

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Clutch

Below average late

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Athleticism

Below average tools

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Basketball IQ

Reads the game

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Durability

Availability

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Act II

Where Richie Saunders stands

Live ladders from the Balladex models, and what he's chasing. Rankings recompute nightly from real production, accolades, and search demand.

The laddersmodel · recomputes nightly

Nikola Jokić Denver Nuggets▬

44%

Giannis Antetokounmpo Miami Heat▬

23%

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Oklahoma City Thunder▬

19%

Luka Doncic Los Angeles Lakers▬

Kyrie Irving Dallas Mavericks▬

✦ Balladex Consensus: #350 of 384 — a blend of the Impact index, current production, career résumé and live search demand. Recomputes as the data does.

Futures & chases

—MVP odds

39Impact index

66Star score

Career scoring average0.0 ppg

Seasons in the index0

Accolades on file1

#32 2026 Draft pick (R2)

Stat explorer

Richie Saunders — every number, three levels deep

Headline → metric → the raw history behind it. Real career data; tracking-only metrics labeled.

Scoring

0.0 PPG

drill in ↓

Playmaking

0.0 APG

drill in ↓

Rebounding

0.0 RPG

drill in ↓

Shooting

— 3P%

drill in ↓

The engine

How the model sees Richie Saunders

Projection = per-minute rate × projected minutes. Rates are recency- and health-weighted, aged along a per-stat curve, and adjusted for live usage/role. No black box — every number shows its work.

Projected next season confidence

Bands widen as confidence drops. Derived live from the real 0-season history below.

What moves the points line vs last season

Everything it reads

📊

0 seasons of per-minute rates

every box line, minutes-normalized

real

⚖

Recency × games-played weight

recent, healthy seasons anchor the baseline

auto

📈

Weighted least-squares trend

his own trajectory, read season over season

+dev

🕰

Per-stat aging curves

age — — applied per stat

curve

🔌

Live role context

usage & role shifts fold in when the feed is present

+ctx

🏥

Durability signal

GP last 3: — → games & confidence

health

The real history it trains onsource: Basketball-Reference · verified

Richie Saunders career stats, season by season

Source: Basketball-Reference. Backtested against completed player-seasons in the index. The same engine powers Tonight's projection, EraLab, and the role simulator — one model, asked different questions. Illustrative.

Act III

The Lab

Every number, live and interactive. Real career data; models labeled.

Gold = MVP / Championship season · hover any bar. Real per-game data; per-36 & totals derived.

EraLab · the stat time machinenovel

Re-express a season in today's pace-and-space.

—raw PPG

→

—in 2026 pace

why

Player DNA + compssimilarity model

Closest comps

Alijah Martin 100%Chaz Lanier 100%Emanuel Sharp 100%Ja'Kobi Gillespie 100%Kam Jones 100%

⚖ Overlay a rival →

Scoring map · clickable zonesShotChart

Team-tinted. Modeled where tracking data is absent.

Role simulatorpowered by GM engine

Change the roster around him — his projection updates live.

If a key teammate misses 20 games →

Projected line shifts to — usage , assists rise as primary initiator. Title odds . Illustrative.

Context

Are the Memphis Grizzlies built to win?

Team projection rolled up from the roster + last-season baselines — and what it means for his role.

27–55proj record

#13conf seed

-5.4net rtg

112.7off rtg

118.1def rtg

1%playoff odds

Roster delta · what changed

Drop coverage — Sits the big back to wall off the rim and lives with contested mid-range looks.. Core trending improving. Defensive anchors: Zach Edey, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

How his role moves

Projected 27–55, 13th in the West. Real team projection from the roster + last-season baselines. His usage, minutes and creation load move with roster health.

Balladex Impact

39 of 99

Role player tier.

Rarity

◆ Rated

Collectible tier.

Résumé

1 accolades

#32 2026 Draft pick (R2)

Act IV

The Ballad of Richie Saunders

Birth to now — the making of a legend, narrated and scored.

The beginning

Richie Saunders is a 2026 second-round guard for the Memphis Grizzlies.

Memphis Grizzlies

Turning pro

Drafted 32nd overall, 2026 as a Guard.

true

Second-round picks don't get promised anything — they get a number and a chance. On draft night 2026, Richie Saunders got his: 32nd overall out of BYU, an early second-round pick and a plane ticket to Memphis.

Chapter

He built his stock the unglamorous way, a wing who defended, moved, and made himself impossible to cut. Nobody handed him the spotlight in Provo; he took what the game gave and turned it into a draftable name.

Chapter

That's the exact frequency Memphis broadcasts on. Falling to the second round isn't an ending here — it's fuel. Saunders lands in the Grindhouse with everything still to prove, which is precisely how the best stories on Beale Street begin.

▶

Saunders's story

The documentary, narrated

Highlights

▶ Highlights landing soon

Off the court

Measurables

Out · INJURY_STATUS_OUTSaunders was selected by the Grizzlies with the No. 32 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.

Height: 6'4"
Weight: 190 lb
Draft: 32nd overall, 2026
Born: BYU
Jersey: #6

Beyond the game

Saunders joins the Memphis Grizzlies as a 2026 second-round pick out of BYU.

The person

A 2026 second-round guard out of BYU.

Incoming

Second round

BYU

FAQ

Richie Saunders — frequently asked

The questions people ask most about Richie Saunders, answered.

Where was Richie Saunders drafted?

Richie Saunders was selected 32nd overall (second round) by the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2026 NBA draft, out of BYU.

Does Saunders have NBA stats yet?

The identity and draft facts are real; the ratings and outlook are Balladex projections, since he debuts in 2026-27.

Richie Saunders career stats & accolades are real, and team projections and recent-game home/away splits are computed from real production. DNA ratings, grades, tonight's projection, ladders, live win probability and simulator outputs are Balladex model output. Not affiliated with the NBA.

Richie SaundersMemphis Grizzlies · #6

Richie Saunders — the report card

Where Richie Saunders stands

Richie Saunders — every number, three levels deep

How the model sees Richie Saunders

Richie Saunders career stats, season by season

The Lab

Are the Memphis Grizzlies built to win?

The Ballad of Richie Saunders

The beginning

Turning pro

true

Chapter

Chapter

Off the court

Richie Saunders — frequently asked

More Memphis Grizzlies players

Other Guards to compare