Before every season, Memphis Grizzlies officials offer Marc Gasol the chance to move his family four seats closer to the court. Never, he tells them. For as long as this franchise has played in the FedEx Forum, those seats have belonged to the Gasol brothers. Marc Gasol has always told his wife, his mother and father: Never come late to the game, never let him walk to the center jump without his eyes meeting theirs, without the serenity that comes from familiar faces in the familiarity of the Forum.

View photos Marc Gasol helped turn Memphis into a contender. (AP) More

History matters to him, nostalgia forever filling his heart and mind. Perhaps this was the reason he was standing inside the arena’s family lounge a season ago, jabbing his finger toward the framed Grizzlies wide-lensed, game-night photo on the wall.

“Right there, do you see?” Gasol asked. “Those are my four seats, and they’ll always be our seats here.” Before every season, the Grizzlies offer Gasol the chance to reshoot the photos in the four family identification badges. “I will never change the pictures,” Gasol said. This way, his parents and younger brother stay forever young.

Gasol is one of the greatest success stories in the NBA, and perhaps few, if any, made as dramatic of a transformation to become a first-team All-NBA player. As a teenager in Memphis, Marc had been a 330-pound high school player, out of shape, out of sorts, lost in the shadow of his old brother, Pau. On his way to the best season of his career a year ago – on maybe the best Grizzlies team in history – extracting Marc Gasol from Memphis in July free agency became the biggest waste of recruiting time in the NBA.

In the end, Gasol signed a five-year, $110 million contract extension in July. Memphis wanted to turn that tough Western Conference semifinals series loss to Golden State into a leap of something bigger, and better. And now, this: Gasol fractures his right foot.

For now, Grizzlies officials stop short of completely ruling Gasol out for the season, but the possibility is admittedly bleak for a playoff push in April that’ll include him on the court. Doctors are evaluating the need for surgery, which would include the insertion of a pin that moves the rehabilitation and recovery process well into the summer.

The Grizzlies’ loss of Gasol is devastating, but the organization doesn’t believe it has to cost them a postseason berth. Memphis is 30-22, holding onto fifth in the Western Conference and reaching the playoffs holds a deeper importance this year.

Missing the playoffs costs the Grizzlies the lottery protection on a 2016 first-round pick that deposed executive Jason Levien sent out in a salary dump three years ago. With or without Gasol, Memphis’ mandate will be unchanged: make the playoffs. They are working to keep Conley in summer free agency, with Memphis planning to be one more contender with two stars that will try to persuade Kevin Durant to make it a Big Three, league sources said. Durant’s the longest of long shots in summer, but the short-term trade deadline directives are unchanged: The Grizzlies are determined to use the trade deadline to better the roster for a playoff push.

For the Grizzlies, everything centers upon Gasol. This hadn’t been the season everyone envisioned for him, but make no mistake: The Grizzlies’ identity in Memphis is wrapped with Marc Gasol. He’s been a two-time All-Star, the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year, and a first-team All-NBA player. Gasol is the best reason and best chance the Grizzlies have to re-sign Conley this summer and the reason for five consecutive trips to the playoffs.

Story continues