MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES

''This is an article about the National Basketball Association team; for the defunct World Football League team, see Memphis Southmen.''
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, 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 70% share of the franchise; the remaining 30% is controlled by several local owners, including AutoZone founder J.R. ("Pitt") Hyde, equity manager Staley Cates, and former NBA player Elliot Perry. Until June 30, 2007 NBA legend Jerry West served as the team's President of Basketball Operations.

Contents

Home arenas

History

Vancouver

Memphis

Season-by-season records

Trivia

All-Star players

Notable former players

Retired numbers:

Current roster

Career Statistical Leaders

Per Game Statistical Leaders

Individual Awards

References

External links

Home arenas

:General Motors Place (1995-2001)
:Pyramid Arena (2001-2004)
:FedExForum' (2004-present)

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 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. Although they won their first two games in franchise history, the Grizzlies finished with the worst win/loss record in the 1995-96 NBA 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 3rd 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 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 slightly, and the team's owners, Orca Bay (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 denied by the NBA as Laurie openly stated that he would move the team. Businessman Michael Heisley then bought the team in 2000 with a promise to stay in Vancouver. Although there was a surge in fan support, a few months into the next season it become apparent that the franchise had only been purchased to be moved. The team considered New Orleans, St. Louis, Louisville and Anaheim as a potential new home. The team eventually moved to Memphis in 2001.

Memphis

In the 2001 NBA Draft, the Atlanta Hawks drafted Pau Gasol as the 3rd overall pick who was traded to the Grizzlies and won the 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 have 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 their First Round Pick, Rudy Gay of the University of Connecticut, and former Grizzly Stromile Swift, the only player on the team still remaining who had played for Vancouver. 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 (out of 48) per game.^[1] 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 had 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.^[2] 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. 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. .
On June 18, 2007, the Grizzlies announced that former Boston Celtics GM Chris Wallace would be replacing West.^[3] 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.

Season-by-season records

|-
|colspan="6" align=center bgcolor="#14cec7" | 'Vancouver Grizzlies '
|-
|1995-96 || 15 || 67 || .183|| ||
|-
|1996-97 || 14 || 68 || .171|| ||
|-
|1997-98 || 19 || 63 || .232|| ||
|-
|1998-99 || 8 || 42 || .160|| ||
|-
|1999-2000 || 22 || 60 || .268|| ||
|-
|2000-01 || 23 || 59 || .280|| ||
|-
!Vancouver Totals ||101||359||.220|| ||
|-
|colspan="6" align=center bgcolor="#182d59" | 'Memphis Grizzlies'
|-
|2001-02 || 23 || 59 || .280|| ||
|-
|2002-03 || 28 || 54 || .341|| ||
|-
|2003-04 || 50 || 32 || .610 || Lost First Round || San Antonio 4, Memphis 0
|-
|2004-05 || 45 || 37 || .549 || Lost First Round || Phoenix 4, Memphis 0
|-
|2005-06 || 49 || 33 || .598 || Lost First Round || Dallas 4, Memphis 0
|-
|2006-07 || 22 || 60 || .268 || ||
|-
!Memphis Totals || 217 || 275 || .441 || ||
|-
!Totals || 318 || 634 || .334 || ||
|-
!Playoffs || 0 || 12 || .000 || ||

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 2007, the Grizzlies are the only team representing Memphis, Tennessee in the United States four major sports leagues (NBA, NFL,MLB, 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 would not allow teams to be named for corporations.

★ Sidney Lowe was the first coach of the Memphis Grizzlies franchise in Memphis.

All-Star players

★ Pau Gasol, 2006

Notable former players

★ Shareef Abdur-Rahim

★ Shane Battier

★ Mike Bibby

★ Michael Dickerson

★ Bobby Jackson

★ Eddie Jones

★ James Posey

★ Bryant Reeves

★ Jake Tsakalidis

★ Bonzi Wells

★ Jason Williams

★ Lorenzen Wright

★ Byron Scott

Retired numbers:

None

Current roster

Career Statistical Leaders

★ Games - Pau Gasol (437)

★ Minutes Played - Pau Gasol (14,698)

★ Field Goals Made - Pau Gasol (3,045)

★ Field Goals Attempted - Shareef Abdur-Rahim (6,011)

★ 3-Point Field Goals Made - Mike Miller (691)

★ 3-Point Field Goals Attempted - Jason Williams (1,528)

★ Free Throws Made - Shareef Abdur-Rahim (2,147)

★ Free Throws Attempted - Pau Gasol (2,937)

★ Offensive Rebounds - Pau Gasol (1,106)

★ Defensive Rebounds - Pau Gasol (2,648)

★ Total Rebounds - Pau Gasol (3,754)

★ Assists - Jason Williams (2,041)

★ Steals - Shane Battier (507)

★ Blocked Shots - Pau Gasol (821)

★ Turnovers - Pau Gasol (1,158)

★ Personal Fouls - Bryant Reeves (1,365)

★ Points - Pau Gasol (8,228)

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 (20.80)

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

References

1. [1]
2. [2]
3. [3]

External links

★ Memphis Grizzlies official web site