Vancouver Grizzlies

The Memphis Grizzlies are a professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. They play in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Grizzlies' current head coach is Mike Fratello and the team is owned by Michael Heisley. more...

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Vancouver Grizzlies
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Jerry West serves as the team's President of Basketball Operations.

Current Record

49-33--------0.598

3rd in Southwest Division.

Streak - Won 5

Seed - 5th in the west, eliminated by the Dallas Mavericks 4-0.

(Last Updated: May 1, 2006)

Home arenas

GM Place (1995-2001)

Pyramid Arena (2001-2004)

FedExForum (2004-present)

Vancouver

The Vancouver Grizzlies, along with the Toronto Raptors, became an NBA franchise in 1995. Both teams were the first NBA teams to play in Canada since 1946–47's Toronto Huskies. The Grizzlies were initially composed of players taken from other teams via an expansion draft and the Grizzlies' first draft pick, Bryant Reeves. The Grizzlies finished with the worst win/loss record in the NBA in 1995–96 season, as is typical for an expansion team. In 1996, the Grizzlies drafted Shareef Abdur-Rahim as the 3rd overall pick. The Grizzlies continued to struggle, however, again finishing with the worst record in the NBA.

In 1997, the Grizzlies drafted Antonio Daniels with the 4th pick. The team saw some improvement as it finished in 6th place. The Grizzlies were back in last place after the 1998–99 season, however, despite drafting guard Mike Bibby with the second overall pick in the NBA Draft during the offseason. In the lockout-shortened season that followed, the Grizzlies would only win 8 games.

After the NBA lockout, the attendance at Grizzlies games began to drop, and the team ownership began to lose money. After six years in Vancouver, the franchise moved to Memphis in 2001.

Memphis

After relocating to Memphis for the 2001–02 season, the team hired former Los Angeles Laker and Hall of Famer Jerry West as general manager in 2002, who later received the 2003–04 NBA Executive of the Year Award. In the 2001 NBA Draft, the Grizzlies drafted Pau Gasol as the 3rd overall pick, who won the Rookie of the Year Award and is widely considered to be the team's best player. During the 2002–03 season, Hubie Brown was hired to coach the Grizzlies. Brown won the NBA Coach of the Year Award in the next season when the Grizzlies made the NBA playoffs for the first time in team history in the spring of 2004 as the sixth seed in the Western Conference.

Hubie Brown stepped down as head coach during the 2004–05 season. At the time, the Grizzlies had a losing record. West hired TNT analyst and former coach Mike Fratello to replace Brown. The Grizzlies' record improved and the team advanced to the postseason for the second consecutive season. The Grizzlies had an active 2005 offseason in which they revamped the team and added veteran talent. While the Grizzlies lost Bonzi Wells, Jason Williams, Stromile Swift, and James Posey, they acquired Damon Stoudamire, Bobby Jackson, and Eddie Jones. They clinched the playoffs for the third consecutive year as well.

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