The Memphis Grizzlies now have four of the past seven NBA Summer League MVPs on their roster.

Brandon Clarke won the award Monday for the best player from the annual summer showcase. Memphis then won the Summer League title with a 95-92 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves, with Clarke posting his third straight double-double.

The No. 21 overall pick joined Jonas Valanciunas (2013), Kyle Anderson (2015) and Tyus Jones (2016) as Grizzlies who have won the award.

For Clarke, the award seemed unlikely as Summer League began. The 6-foot-8 forward missed the team's first game in Las Vegas as he and the Grizzlies waited for the draft-day trade that sent him to Memphis to process.

“It’s been tough," Clarke said after scoring 17 points in his debut. "It sucks, kind of. I haven’t been able to practice. I’ve just been doing individual work."

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But Clarke fit in almost immediately. And got better as summer league went along.

Grizzlies Summer League coach Taylor Jenkins credited Clarke after his second game for how quickly he picked up the team's system.

"He’s a ‘yes sir’ and super humble kid that loves to compete, and we’re excited to have him," Jenkins said.

The Grizzlies liked Clarke enough to trade up two spots from No. 23 to No. 21 on draft night in order to select him. They parted with a 2024 second-round pick for the right to jump up.

So far, Clarke is proving that to be a good move.

"The offensive bursts and his athleticism with playing around the rim (are good)," Jenkins said. "But the thing that stands out to me the most is his competitiveness on defense, how he’s making the right rotations and coming over and blocking shots, rebounding and doing the unselfish things on the defensive end.”

Clarke is in line to compete for minutes at the power forward position in the regular season. He will be 23 by the time the regular season starts.

His Summer League performance suggests his NBA learning curve might not be as sharp as it is for some younger prospects.

Clarke played two seasons at San Jose State before transferring to Gonzaga and sitting out a season before becoming a key member of the 2018-19 team as a junior.

“It’s been a really long journey to get to this point, but a really fun one," Clarke said. "I’m 22. Most rookies are about 18 or 19. It shows that my journey was longer. But for it to be longer made it really, really fun. And it feels great to be here right now.”