Everything about The Memphis Grizzlies totally explained
The
Memphis Grizzlies are a professional
basketball team based in
Memphis, Tennessee. They are part of the
Southwest Division of the
Western Conference in the
National Basketball Association (NBA). The team was established in 1995 in
Vancouver,
British Columbia, along with the
Toronto Raptors, as part of the NBA's
expansion into
Canada. The Grizzlies relocated to Memphis in 2001. The team's majority owner is
Michael Heisley, who controls a 95% share of the franchise; the remaining 5% is controlled by several local owners, including
AutoZone founder J.R. ("Pitt") Hyde, equity manager Staley Cates, and former NBA player and
University of Memphis point guard
Elliot Perry.
History
Vancouver
The
Vancouver Grizzlies along with the
Toronto Raptors became expansion NBA franchises in 1995. Both teams were the first NBA teams to play in
Canada since the
1946–47 Toronto Huskies. The Grizzlies were originally supposed to be named the
Vancouver Mounties, but were forced to find a new name due to objections from the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police. They then decided to adopt the name "Grizzlies," after the
grizzly bear, a longtime cultural symbol of Canada. Like the Raptors, the Grizzlies paid homage to the sport's founder, native Canadian
James Naismith, in their color scheme; one of their team colors was "Naismith blue."
The Grizzlies were initially composed of players taken from other teams via an expansion draft and the Grizzlies' first
draft pick,
Bryant Reeves. They were hampered by the NBA's decision to deny the Raptors and Grizzlies a shot at one of the top five picks in the draft—a reaction to the
Orlando Magic snagging
Shaquille O'Neal and
Penny Hardaway in consecutive drafts and going to the
NBA Finals in only their sixth year of existence. The Grizzlies' first home arena was the newly built
General Motors Place. Although they won their first two games in franchise history, the Grizzlies finished with the worst win/loss record in the
1995–96 season, as is typical for an expansion team, and lost
23 straight games from February to April (setting an NBA single-season record now shared with the
Denver Nuggets; the overall record of 24 is still held by the
Cleveland Cavaliers). In 1996, the Grizzlies drafted
Shareef Abdur-Rahim as the third overall pick. However, the Grizzlies continued to struggle and finished with the worst record in the league.
In 1997, the Grizzlies drafted
Antonio Daniels with the fourth pick. The team however still finished in last place and repeated this feat again in the
1998–99 season, despite drafting guard
Mike Bibby with the second overall pick in the NBA Draft. In the lockout-shortened season that followed, the Grizzlies would only win eight games. In the
1999 NBA Draft, the Grizzlies had the second overall pick again, and selected
Steve Francis. Unfortunately, in what became a turning point for the franchise, Francis publicly announced that he didn't want to play for the team, citing various reasons. He was heavily criticized for his antics, particularly in Vancouver, and he was subsequently traded to the
Houston Rockets in a three-team, 11-player blockbuster deal.
After the
NBA lockout, attendance at Grizzlies games began to drop slightly, and the team's owners,
Orca Bay Sports and Entertainment (who also owned the
Vancouver Canucks of the
NHL), began to lose money. An initial sale of the team to
Bill Laurie, (who at that time owned the
St. Louis Blues of the NHL) was rejected by the NBA after Laurie openly stated that he'd move the team to
St. Louis, Missouri. Businessman
Michael Heisley then bought the team in 2000 with a promise to stay in Vancouver. However, attendance at Grizzlies' home games was lower than expected in the
2000–01 season. Fan support increased after it was widely believed that the team would be moved before the next season.
Memphis
In the
2001 NBA Draft, the
Atlanta Hawks drafted
Pau Gasol as the 3rd overall pick and was traded to the Grizzlies. After the Grizzlies'
first season in Memphis, Gasol won the
NBA Rookie of the Year Award. The Grizzlies also drafted
Shane Battier, who quickly became an unofficial spokesman for the team and a fan favorite. However, despite the strong draft class,
Billy Knight was let go. After Billy Knight's departure and 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. After West's arrival the team was changed a great deal from Knight's team, with the removal of
Sidney Lowe as head coach after a dismal 0-8 start to the season and a great deal of player movement with players such as
Mike Miller and
James Posey becoming vital to the team's success. During the
2002-03 season,
Hubie Brown was hired to coach the Grizzlies. Brown won the
NBA Coach of the Year Award during 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 in a drastic change from being perennially one of the worst teams in the NBA.
However,
Hubie Brown stepped down as head coach during the
2004-05 season. At the time of his resignation, the Grizzlies had a losing record but West was able to hire
TNT analyst and former coach
Mike Fratello to replace Brown. The Grizzlies' record markedly improved and the team advanced to the
postseason for the second consecutive season. However, upon reaching the playoffs, the Grizzlies were once again swept out in the first round, this time by the
Phoenix Suns. After this season, which ended tumultuously with anger between Fratello and many of the players, namely
Bonzi Wells and
Jason Williams, the team 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,
Hakim Warrick, and
Eddie Jones. They made the playoffs for the third consecutive year as well.
With their record they owned the fifth playoff seed in the Western Conference and would have to face the
Dallas Mavericks. The
Dallas Mavericks swept the Grizzlies in 4 games. The Grizzlies have the longest losing streak in the playoffs with 12 losses. This makes three consecutive years in which the Grizzlies have not won a playoff series, or even a single game, and they've remained winless in the playoffs during their short franchise history.
Following the
2006 NBA Draft, Jerry West traded
Shane Battier to the
Houston Rockets for first round pick,
Rudy Gay of the
University of Connecticut, and
Stromile Swift. Before the
2006-07 season, the Grizzlies suffered a crippling blow when Gasol broke his left foot while playing for
Spain in the
World Championships. The Grizzlies started the season 5-17 without Gasol, and then went 1-7 while he was limited to about 25 minutes per game. At that point, Fratello was fired and replaced by Tony Barone, Sr. as interim coach. Barone was the team's player personnel director and had never coached an NBA game though he'd coached at the collegiate level for both Creighton and Texas A&M being named coach of the year in their conferences three times during his tenure. Grizzlies finished the 2006-07 season with the league's worst 22-60 record, and Jerry West announced resignation from his position as the team's general manager shortly after end of the regular season. The team also hired highly touted
Phoenix Suns assistant
Marc Iavaroni to be the team's new head coach. Despite their last place finish, the Grizzlies, who held the best chance of landing the first pick in a draft, ended up with the fourth pick in the
2007 NBA Draft. With this Pick, the Grizzlies select
Mike Conley, Jr. A guard from Ohio State
On
June 18, 2007, the Grizzlies named former
Boston Celtics GM
Chris Wallace as the team's General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations, replacing the retired West. A few days later, the Grizzlies hired former
Philadelphia 76ers and
Orlando Magic head coach
Johnny Davis, longtime NBA assistant coach
Gordon Chiesa, and the head coach of the 2007
NBA Development League champion
Dakota Wizards,
David Joerger, as the team's new assistant coaches.
Gene Bartow, a Memphis basketball legend, was named the Grizzlies' President of Basketball Operations on
August 16,
2007. On
February 1 2008, Gasol was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers for
Kwame Brown,
Javaris Crittenton,
Aaron McKie, rights to
Marc Gasol (Pau's younger brother), and
2008 and
2010 first round draft picks.
Season-by-season records
Home arenas
Memphis
Players
All-Star players
Pau Gasol, 2006
Current roster
Career statistical leaders
Games – Pau Gasol (471)
Minutes Played – Pau Gasol (16,727)
Field Goals Made – Pau Gasol (3,286)
Field Goals Attempted – Pau Gasol (6,459)
3-Point Field Goals Made – Mike Miller (1,015)
3-Point Field Goals Attempted – Jason Williams (1,528)
Free Throws Made – Pau Gasol (2,284)
Free Throws Attempted – Pau Gasol (3,130)
Offensive Rebounds – Pau Gasol (1,187)
Defensive Rebounds – Pau Gasol (2,864)
Total Rebounds – Pau Gasol (4,051)
Assists – Jason Williams (2,041)
Steals – Shane Battier (507)
Blocked Shots – Pau Gasol (868)
Turnovers – Pau Gasol (1,224)
Personal Fouls – Bryant Reeves (1,365)
Points – Pau Gasol (8,872)
Per game statistical leaders
Minutes Played – Shareef Abdur-Rahim (37.97)
Field Goals Made – Shareef Abdur-Rahim (7.43)
Field Goals Attempted – Shareef Abdur-Rahim (16.03)
3-Point Field Goals Made – Mike Miller (2.0)
3-Point Field Goals Attempted – Jason Williams (5.38)
Free Throws Made – Shareef Abdur-Rahim (5.73)
Free Throws Attempted – Shareef Abdur-Rahim (7.15)
Offensive Rebounds – Shareef Abdur-Rahim (2.53)
Defensive Rebounds – Pau Gasol (7.3)
Total Rebounds – Pau Gasol (9.8)
Assists – Mike Bibby (7.83)
Steals – Greg Anthony (1.83)
Blocked Shots – Pau Gasol (2.1)
Turnovers – Shareef Abdur-Rahim (3.06)
Personal Fouls – Bryant Reeves (3.46)
Points – Shareef Abdur-Rahim (20.8)
Individual awards
NBA Sixth Man of the Year
Mike Miller – 2006
NBA Rookie of the Year
Pau Gasol – 2002
NBA Coach of the Year
Hubie Brown – 2004
NBA Executive of the Year
Jerry West – 2004
Trivia
Geographically, the Grizzlies' hometown of Memphis is further east than the home of any other team in the Western Conference.
The Memphis Grizzlies was also the nickname of the franchise that was part of the World Football League in the 1970s. The actual name of the team was the Memphis Southmen, which had a Grizzly bear for its logo.
On the team's original franchise application to the NBA, the team name was listed as the Vancouver Mounties. The government of Canada took exception to the name, however, claiming that the name was trademarked, prompting the change to the current name.
The Grizzlies were the first NBA team to have a website, which was created in 1995 by Bob Kerstein, Chief Information Officer of the Grizzlies at the time.
As of 2008, the Grizzlies are the only team representing Memphis, Tennessee in the United States four major sports leagues (NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL).
The Vancouver Grizzlies and Charlotte Hornets both applied with the NBA to relocate to Memphis on the same day, March 26, 2001 (The Hornets would go on to move to New Orleans the following year).
FedEx hoped the team would change its name to the Memphis Express when the team moved to Tennessee. The NBA quickly quashed that idea, ruling that they wouldn't allow teams to be named for corporations.
Sidney Lowe was the first coach of the Grizzlies franchise in Memphis.
The Grizzlies are featured in a scene in the 2005 movie Hitch playing against the New York Knicks.Further Information
Get more info on 'Memphis Grizzlies'.
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