The Memphis Grizzlies are one of the youngest franchises in the NBA. The Grizzlies were founded in 1995 by Orca Bay Sports and Entertainment, the same group that owns the Vancouver Canucks of the NHL.
The team was led by Bryant Reeves, who was known as “Big Country.” Vancouver was not a competitive team at all, finishing with the worst record in the league in their first season with a 15-67 record.
Despite the poor play, the team saw modest attendance at their games. This would change during the 1999-00 season. The Grizzlies’ attendance was ranked 20th out of 29th in 1995-96, 17th of 29th in 1996-97, 19th of 29th in 1997-98, and 16th of 29th during the 1998-99 season.
Then, in the 1999-00 season, the Vancouver Grizzlies’ attendance fell to 27th of the 29 teams in the NBA. This, along with the problem of attracting star players, hurt any future the franchise may have if it stayed in the Canadian city.
NBA players didn’t want to play in Vancouver for two reasons. For one, they didn’t like the Canadian dollar value compared to the American dollar value at the time. The second reason was because of Vancouver’s harsh cold weather.
The Grizzlies Move To Memphis
The Vancouver Grizzlies were sold to businessman Michael Heisley before the 2000–01 NBA season. From the moment Heisley took over ownership of the franchise, despite telling fans he’d keep the team in Vancouver, Heisley was on the lookout for moving the franchise to a new city.
The search for a new city was narrowed down to Las Vegas, Anaheim, St. Louis, New Orleans, Louisville, and Memphis. Finally, in 2001, with the help of FedEx pledging to donate $250 million to build a new arena if the team moved to the area, the Grizzlies now called Memphis, Tennessee, home.
There you have it. This was the reason why the Vancouver Grizzlies made the move to Memphis, the city they still call home to this day. The Memphis Grizzlies are one of the top teams in the league this season.
So far, the team has not only never won an NBA championship; they’ve never reached the NBA Finals. Could this be the year where that changes? If you ask Grizzlies star Ja Morant, I’m sure his answer would be an emphatic yes.
The only thing Morant needs to do now is to stay out of trouble. If he does, the Grizzlies have as good of a chance to win the title as any team in the league.
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