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

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. Although they won their first home game in franchise history, 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's owners, OrcaBay (who also owned the Vancouver Canucks of the NHL) began to lose money. Businessman Michael Heisley bought the team in 2000, but after another subpar year moved the team to Memphis.

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. 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.

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. In their third consecutive playoff year they have never won a series in those years. They are also winless in the playoffs altime.

Trivia

• Geographically, the Grizzlies' hometown of Memphis is further east than any team's hometown in the Western Conference.
• The Memphis Grizzlies was also the name of the franchaise that was part of the now-defunct World Football League in the 1970s. This gives Memphis the distinction of having a sports franchaise name being used twice for different teams in the city's history.
• 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 2006, the Grizzlies are the only team representing Memphis, Tennessee in the United States four major sports leagues (NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL).
• In an ironic twist for a city shunned by major league sports for decades, 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).
• Federal Express 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.
• The Grizzlies have never won a playoff game in three series. They were swept by the San Antonio Spurs in 2004, by the Phoenix Suns in 2005, and by the Dallas Mavericks in 2006.

• Pau Gasol 2006

Notable former players

• Shareef Abdur-Rahim
• Mike Bibby
• Chris Carr
• Michael Dickerson
• Bryant Reeves
• Stromile Swift
• Jason Williams

Retired numbers:

None