Memphis Grizzlies

About Memphis Grizzlies

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.

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, which is native to British Columbia. 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 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.

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.