I've read a lot of farewell letters from athletes over the years. Press releases. Social media posts. Carefully crafted PR statements that say everything and nothing at the same time.

This isn't one of those.

Jaren Jackson Jr. just wrote one of the most honest, emotional goodbyes I've read from a player in years. Eight years with the Grizzlies. Eight years in Memphis. And now, it's over.

He wrote an essay for The Players' Tribune, and folks, you need to read it. Because JJJ doesn't sugarcoat anything. He talks about the playoff runs. The brotherhood. The late-night conversations about winning a ring. The mistakes. The lessons learned.

And through it all, you hear one message loud and clear: "Memphis will always be home."

You believe it. You feel it. This isn't a platitude. This is real.

Jackson writes about the 2022 playoff runs when FedEx Forum was jumping. When Memphis believed they could win it all. When the city rallied behind the Grit and Grind mentality and took it to another level.

"When we were rolling, there was nothing you could say. Nothing," he writes. "FedEx was JUMPING. If you don't remember that, then I guess you just weren't really there."

That's not arrogance. That's pride. That's a player who gave everything he had to a city and a franchise, and who wants people to remember what they built together.

But JJJ also acknowledges reality: "I guess it's like they say: All good things must come to an end."

The Grizzlies moved on. They made a business decision. And Jackson ended up with the Utah Jazz. That's the NBA. That's the business. But that doesn't make it hurt any less.

What gets me about this essay is the honesty. JJJ talks about the mistakes. The lessons he had to learn the hard way. The growth that came from failure. He doesn't pretend those years were perfect. He admits they fell short of the ultimate goal.

But he also celebrates what they did accomplish. The culture they built. The brotherhood they formed. The way Memphis embraced him and his teammates.

This is what I love about The Players' Tribune. When players write their own stories, you get the truth. You get the emotion. You get the humanity that's sometimes lost in the box scores and trade reports.

Jaren Jackson Jr. spent his formative years as a professional in Memphis. He went from a rookie to a Defensive Player of the Year. He went from a prospect to a cornerstone. He grew up in that city, on and off the court.

And now he's saying goodbye. Not with bitterness. Not with regret. But with gratitude.

"It was realer than real," he writes. And you can feel every word.

For Grizzlies fans, this has to hit hard. JJJ was supposed to be part of the next great Memphis team. But the NBA doesn't care about supposed to be. It cares about production, about fit, about the next opportunity.

So Jackson moves on to Utah. The Grizzlies move forward without him. And all that's left are the memories - and an essay that captures what those eight years meant.

That's what sports is all about, folks. Not just the wins and losses, but the journey. The relationships. The city that becomes home.

Jaren Jackson Jr. gets that. And Memphis will always remember him for it.