In 76 games (75 starts), Adams (6-11, 265) averaged 6.9 points, set career highs with 10.0 rebounds and 3.4 assists, and played his debut season with the Grizzlies after being traded from the New Orleans Pelicans. Memphis finished the 2021–22 regular season with the second-best record in the NBA (56–26), tying the team record and giving the Grizzlies their first division title in franchise history.
The 29-year-old broke the single-season franchise records previously established by Zach Randolph during the 2009–10 season by leading the NBA with 349 total offensive rebounds and 4.6 offensive rebounds per game. With 18.6 second chance points per game, the greatest number by any NBA club since the league started keeping track of the statistic in the 1996–97 season, he helped Memphis lead the league.