The official Memphis Grizzlies colors are Memphis Midnight Blue, Beale Street Blue, Grizzlies Gold and Steel Gray. The primary color is Memphis Midnight Blue (#12173F), paired with Beale Street Blue (#5D76A9), Grizzlies Gold (#F5B112) and Steel Gray (#707271). White supports all four. This palette dates to the 2004 rebrand and was darkened in 2018.
Grizzlies Color Codes: HEX, RGB, CMYK and Pantone
| Color | Swatch | HEX | RGB | CMYK | Pantone |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Memphis Midnight Blue | #12173F | 18, 23, 63 | 100, 84, 45, 50 | PMS 289 C | |
| Beale Street Blue | #5D76A9 | 93, 118, 169 | 64, 38, 7, 2 | PMS 652 C | |
| Grizzlies Gold | #F5B112 | 255, 187, 34 | 0, 23, 91, 0 | PMS 123 C | |
| Steel Gray | #707271 | 112, 114, 113 | 30, 20, 19, 58 | PMS 424 C | |
| White | #FFFFFF | 255, 255, 255 | 0, 0, 0, 0 | n/a |
A note on honesty, because it matters here: the club does not publish a public brand book. The Pantone matches above (289 C, 652 C, 123 C, 424 C) are the ones repeated across licensed apparel suppliers and team color databases, and they line up with the HEX values. Treat them as reliable, not as gospel from a PDF signed by the Grizzlies. If you are printing a licensed product, get the codes from the licensor.
Also worth knowing: you will see #00285E and #FDB927 floating around. Those were the pre-2018 navy and gold. Both were darkened slightly in the 2018 refresh. Old palettes stick around on the internet forever.
Per-Color Breakdown
Memphis Midnight Blue in the Grizzlies palette
Memphis Midnight Blue (#12173F) is the anchor. It is nearly black in low light, which is exactly the point. It fills the Icon uniform, most of the bear head’s darker planes, and the outer layer of the two-tone “MEMPHIS” wordmark.
This is not a generic navy blue. It sits colder and deeper than the 2004 original (#00285E), which read closer to a standard sports navy. The 2018 update pushed it toward true midnight so the gold would pop harder on screen.
Beale Street Blue in the Grizzlies palette
Beale Street Blue (#5D76A9) is the color everyone actually remembers. It is a muted, dusty medium blue with a gray undertone, and it carries the Statement jersey.
Named after Beale Street, the blues corridor in downtown Memphis. That is the whole reason it exists. The team introduced it in 2004 when it dropped the Vancouver-era look, and it has survived every refresh since.
Grizzlies Gold in the Grizzlies palette
Grizzlies Gold (#F5B112) is the accent, never the base. It shows up in the bear’s eyes, in the numbers, in the trim, and in the “MEMPHIS” wordmark on the modified Statement jersey.
If you are pulling this into a design, it behaves like a bright warm gold rather than a metallic. Flat, saturated, closer to a school-bus yellow than to bronze. Use it at maybe 5 to 10 percent of the total composition and it does its job.
Steel Gray in the Grizzlies palette
Steel Gray (#707271) is the newest member. It joined in August 2018 as an outline around the bear’s head, and it replaced Smoke Blue (#BED4E9), the pale blue that used to sit on the bear’s snout.
Why the swap? Reproduction. Smoke Blue was hard to hold at small sizes and on merchandise. A mid-value gray gives the logo definition on both white and dark backgrounds. Practical decision, not a poetic one.
Grizzlies Uniform Colors
Association (home): white base, midnight and Beale Street blue lettering, gold numbers with an inline. The inline detail is a nod to the neon signs on Beale Street.
Icon: Memphis Midnight Blue base, white and gold. Player names sit below the numbers on both Association and Icon, which is unusual in the NBA.
Statement: Beale Street Blue base. Since 2022 the front carries “Memphis” in gold above “Grizzlies” in split navy/smoke/navy letters.
City Edition: changes yearly. The 2022-23 version went black with Beale Street blue, chrome and gold, a nod to Memphis rap. The 2024-25 version used a red base for the 50th anniversary of the ABA’s Memphis Sounds.
Color History and Rebranding
1995 to 2004. The franchise launched in Vancouver with turquoise, red, brown and black. That scheme moved to Memphis in 2001 unchanged, because ownership did not want to pay for an immediate rebrand while the team played out of the Pyramid.
2004. Full reset, timed to the FedExForum move. Out went the teal and brown; in came navy, Beale Street blue, smoke blue and gold. The split-letter typography drew comparisons to the 1990s Toronto Blue Jays and Cavaliers uniforms.
2009. A Beale Street Blue alternate arrived, originally in a shiny metallic fabric that Adidas quietly replaced in 2010.
2018. The refresh. Smoke Blue was removed entirely, Steel Gray came in as an outline, the blues and gold were darkened, and the arched “GRIZZLIES” wordmark was straightened. Three primaries stayed, so the identity did not really break, it just got sharper.
How to Use the Grizzlies Colors
For anything on screen, use the HEX or RGB values. For print, use the CMYK numbers, or the Pantone matches if the job is spot color. Do not sample the hex off a JPEG of a jersey; compression will lie to you.
Practical ratio that works: midnight blue as the field, Beale Street blue for large secondary blocks, white for breathing room, gold for accents only. Gold at scale looks like a taxi.
“ :root { --grizzlies-midnight-blue: #12173F; --grizzlies-beale-street-blue: #5D76A9; --grizzlies-gold: #F5B112; --grizzlies-steel-gray: #707271; --grizzlies-white: #FFFFFF; } `
Contrast check, since somebody always forgets: gold on white fails WCAG AA for body text. Gold on midnight blue passes comfortably. Beale Street Blue on white is borderline at small sizes, so bump the weight or darken it.
Related Resources
- NBA team color codes for the full league palette index
- Baseball team color codes if you are building a multi-league brand board
- Toronto Blue Jays colors, the split-letter typography cousin
- Blue color palettes for pairing ideas beyond the team set
- Gold color palettes when you need the accent to carry more weight
FAQ on The Memphis Grizzlies Colors
What are the Memphis Grizzlies colors?
The Memphis Grizzlies team colors are Memphis Midnight Blue (#12173F), Beale Street Blue (#5D76A9), Grizzlies Gold (#F5B112) and Steel Gray (#707271), with white as support. This palette appears on the bear head logo, uniforms and merchandise.
What are the Memphis Grizzlies color codes in HEX and RGB?
The Grizzlies hex codes are #12173F, #5D76A9, #F5B112 and #707271. In RGB values, that is (18, 23, 63), (93, 118, 169), (255, 187, 34) and (112, 114, 113). White is #FFFFFF.
What is the Memphis Grizzlies Pantone color?
The Pantone match set is PMS 289 C for midnight blue, PMS 652 C for Beale Street Blue, PMS 123 C for gold, PMS 424 C for gray. The franchise does not publish official Pantone codes publicly.
What are the Memphis Grizzlies CMYK values?
CMYK breakdown for print: midnight blue (100, 84, 45, 50), Beale Street Blue (64, 38, 7, 2), Grizzlies Gold (0, 23, 91, 0), Steel Gray (30, 20, 19, 58). Use these for jerseys, posters and fan gear printing.
When did the Grizzlies adopt their current colors?
The three-blue-and-gold scheme launched with the 2004 rebrand, timed to the FedExForum move. The 2018 refresh darkened the palette, dropped Smoke Blue and added Steel Gray as a logo outline.
What is the primary color of the Memphis Grizzlies?
Memphis Midnight Blue is the primary color. It dominates the Icon Edition uniform, forms the darkest planes of the bear head, and fills the outer layer of the two-tone “MEMPHIS” wordmark.
What is Beale Street Blue?
Beale Street Blue (#5D76A9) is a muted medium blue named after Memphis’s blues music street. It carries the Statement Edition jersey and the 2009 alternate, and it has survived every rebrand since 2004.
What were the Vancouver Grizzlies colors?
The Vancouver Grizzlies used turquoise, red, brown and black from 1995. That teal-based scheme followed the franchise to Memphis in 2001 and stayed until the 2004 overhaul at the Pyramid Arena.
What happened to Smoke Blue?
Smoke Blue (#BED4E9) was the pale blue on the bear’s snout from 2004 to 2018. Nike’s rebrand removed it entirely because it reproduced poorly at small sizes, replacing it with gray.
Are the Grizzlies colors the same as the Denver Nuggets?
No. Both use navy and gold, but Denver’s gold sits warmer and its blue reads brighter. The Grizzlies’ midnight blue is far darker, and their mid-tone Beale Street Blue has no Nuggets equivalent.
Conclusion
The Memphis Grizzlies colors hold up because they mean something. Midnight blue, Beale Street blue, gold and steel gray tie the franchise to the city rather than to a generic NBA template.
Grab the hex codes for screen work, the CMYK breakdown for print, and check your contrast before shipping.
One last thing: the 2018 rebrand trimmed the palette rather than reinventing it. Restraint, in branding, usually ages better.
Renowned for his expertise in logo design and visual branding, Bogdan has developed a multitude of logos for various clients.
His skills extend to creating posters, vector illustrations, business cards, and brochures. Additionally, Bogdan's UI kits were featured on marketplaces like Visual Hierarchy and UI8.
He also wrote in the past years on sites like Design Your Way, WebDesignerDepot, WPDean, Designmodo, Speckyboy, Slider Revolution, and more.
- Stunning Merriweather Font Pairing for Readable Design - 23 August 2026
- The Screen With 200 Fields: How to Design Enterprise Forms - 22 August 2026
- Emo Font Generator - 21 August 2026
Bogdan Sandu is a seasoned designer who has been designing websites since 2008. Renowned for his expertise in logo design and visual branding, Bogdan has developed a multitude of logos for various clients. His skills extend to creating posters, vector illustrations, business cards, and brochures. Additionally, Bogdan's UI kits were featured on marketplaces like Visual Hierarchy and UI8. He also wrote in the past years on sites like Design Your Way, WebDesignerDepot, WPDean, Designmodo, Speckyboy, Slider Revolution, and more.
You Might Also Like
